Night
by liontaming
Summary: "Your not who you say you are," Red Arrow growled at Mercy, whose gray eyes where narrow and furious as he thrust a finger at her. "I recognize you're movements. I know who you are, and if you harm anyone on this team I'll-" She interrupted him with a scoff. "Kill me?" She turned on her heel, and began to walk away. "It'd be a pleasure."
1. Chapter 1

Chapter ONE

_Under the light of the full moon, we dance. _

The sound of quiet running came from the stairwell as a Black Figure, and a hero donned in red with a quiver on his back ascended the stairs towards the roof. The hero in red pulled an arrow from his quiver, and aimed at the figure in black ahead of him, but missed, and the arrow stuck into the wall with a quiet _thunk._

_But when the sun begins to shine, I must go. _

The door to the rooftop was kicked open, and it flew off of its hinges, causing it to slam to the ground a few feet away. The figure that had kicked it did not stop to observe their handiwork, but continued to run. A red arrow shot out of the stairwell behind the figure, and without a second's hesitation, the figure spun on its heel, sliced the arrow in half with a knife, and then continued to sprint towards the edge of one of Star City's tallest buildings.

_For the sun may bring light, but the light reveals my clandestine. _

None other than Red Arrow himself came sprinting out of the stairwell after the figure, bow and arrow in hand, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the figure.

"Stop!" Red Arrow yelled, taking aim at the figure, and then releasing an arrow. Before he even stopped to see if the arrow would hit his target, he began sprinting after it again.

_Fret not my love, for by the light of the next full moon, we shall dance once more._

The arrow chased after the black figure, and just before it was supposed to hit, it exploded open into a giant net. Just as Red Arrow began to think that he had his suspect, the figure leapt into the air over the net, causing his eyes to widen with shock, snatch the net, swing it around their head, and then throw it at Red Arrow with all their might- all mid air. If Red Arrow had blinked, he would have missed the entire show.

_By the light of the full moon, we shall love once more._

But he didn't even have time to think once the net hit him, causing him to fall back, rolling over back onto his knees as he witnessed his suspect sprint towards the edge again, jump, and disappear into the night.

"You're not getting away that easy." Red Arrow seethed, pulling out a sharp arrow, and slicing open the net. He untangled himself quickly, and then sprinted towards the edge, searching for his target.

He spotted the figure gliding through the air, aimed his arrow, and then aimed.

He watched as his arrow flew towards the figure, hoping that it would hit its target.

_By the light of the full moon in the Night, we shall love- but soon, in the day. _

The figure sensed the arrow, and suddenly let its arms go limp, causing the figure to plummet to the ground, the arrow shooting off into the darkness of the night.

He watched, his mouth agape as the figure quickly composed itself, landed on a building hundreds of feet below him, and continued to run into the night.

Red Arrow, once again had lost the elusive Night.

He reached up to his right ear, and pressed one the comm.

"I lost him. Couldn't even get a tracker on him." He sounded angry, and frustrated. A voice on the other end sighed.

"You can't win them all, Red." The voice of Green Arrow himself came through as Red Arrow shot off a grappling line at a building nearby. He was careful not to choose one that would send him down an uncontrollable rollercoaster.

"But I can try." He snarled back quietly so that his mentor would not hear.

Green Arrow sighed on the other end of the comm. link. He was perched at the other end of the city with Black Canary seated next to him, listening closely with her own comm. Red Arrow was hard headed, but he wasn't stupid. Black Canary gave Green Arrow a meaningful look, and Green Arrow shrugged back.

"Red, why don't you contact the team? You've been chasing this… _Night, _for nearly a month- and he's gotten away with-"Red Arrow cut him off.

"I don't need the teams help!" He snapped as he landed on a rooftop, and jogged to the edge, keeping a close lookout for Night. It was difficult to see Night in the darkness, even under a full moon, due to his all black attire. The only defining feature Night had was the knives he threw- cold stainless metal, with cobra venom painted along the edge of the blade, and a circle engraved into the handle. Red Arrow had only been able to collect one of these knives, seeing that Night always used his blades sparingly, and rarely threw them.

Red Arrow had dubbed Night, Night when he could not find evidence of any other name at the crime scenes, and since he only seemed to appear at night. Most other villains did as well- but some of them would make occasional daytime appearances. Night exclusively worked in the shadows.

"_Roy." _The sound of Black Canary's disapproving tone made him think for a moment.

There was silence on either end of the comm. for a while as Red Arrow stopped to think, the wind blowing through his short red hair as he stared at the full moon. It was late, and he had spent most of his night chasing Night.

Red Arrow finally sighed, and pulled a grappling arrow out of his quiver. He aimed at a building nearby, and shot at it, after pulling on the grapple and confirming it was safe to use, he spoke once more.

"Fine. I'll contact the team." And then the comm. was silent for the rest of the night.

-0-

Nothing is more relieving than the feeling of taking off layers of hot Kevlar and body armor after a night's hard work stealing the one of the world's most powerful computer programs.

It was a job, and Night had succeeded. Pick up and payment was already over with, and now a briefcase filled with fifty-thousand dollars sat happily in a safe in the back of the closet underneath a pile of clothing and shoes.

Tonight, Night had evaded Red Arrow for the umpteenth time, and again, gotten home without a scratch on the multiple layers of Kevlar and body armor.

As Night carefully placed the Kevlar and body armor under a loose floorboard, along with the collection of blades and a pair of boots, the moon began to fade away, and the sun peeked above the horizon, as if waiting for permission to rise.

Night reached up to put away the final piece of the costume, unwrapped the black scarf around his head, and then moved to take off the hard and unusual full face mask, or helmet, whichever more it seemed like, that made him appear faceless, and eyeless to others.

Night lifted the mask, and a long braid of black hair fell out from underneath it.

Night was a girl. A black haired, silver eyed girl- she couldn't have been more than 110 pounds, and she certainly didn't look all that threatening. The thief that Red Arrow had been hunting nearly a month was a young girl.

"Unscathed, as always," She breathed; proud that none of her costume had been damaged, yet again. "Until next week, my friend," She placed the mask on top of the rest of the costume, and then put the floorboard back in its place. "We shall meet again."

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**I cannot believe I'm adding on another story. But I hope you guys like it. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"_**MERCY!" **_

A pair of gray eyes shot wide open at the sound of her mother's voice.

"MERCY! I GAVE BIRTH TO YOU! I CHANGED YOUR DIAPERS! COME FEED ME!" Her mother, of course. She was lying in her hospital bed in the living room, screaming at her as always.

Mercy looked over at the clock on the wall, and scowled. The woman always woke up and started screaming right away, with absolutely no thought as to how much their angry neighbors would feel about it. Anymore complaints and Mercy would have to drag her mother to another complex- which was difficult when you had a paralyzed mother and hardly any money.

Every penny of the money Mercy made as Night was spent on her Mother's horrible debt and medical expenses. She cared for her mother hand and foot, risked her life and well being for her, and she was repaid with constant screaming to be fed and changed, insensitive slurs, and the constant reminder that this was _all her fault. _She had been driving after all.

"GODDAMNIT MERCY, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Mercy closed her eyes for a moment, sighed, and then sat up in her bed, cracked her neck slowly, then her wrists, and lastly her back before standing up, then reaching down and touching her toes. She then, slowly, and tediously walked out of her room, her long midnight braid swinging behind her.

"There you are you-"

"Good morning to you too, Mother. What would you like to eat?" Mercy said robotically. She repeated the phrase every morning to her mother, and always received some sort of insult as a response.

"Well, while you were being a lazy _bitch _in bed, I got up and made myself some _eggs and bacon._" She spat out the words with venom. Mercy bit her tongue as she pulled out a frying pan, and then opened the fridge to take out the eggs and bacon.

"How do you want your eggs, Mother?" She asked, she still sounded as if she was in pain.

"Like you don't know, dumbass, it's always the same goddamn way." Of course, sunny side up- break the yolk and you'll never hear the end of it.

"Of course, Mother." Mercy had to resist the urge to snarl the sentence. She flicked on the gas, and quickly lit it with a match, then started the bacon, tossing in three pieces, and the covering it with a special cover. After she got the bacon started, she leaned down, and pulled out another pan to make the eggs in. She went through the same motions every morning, said the exact same thing, and then went to school, came home, and did it all over again that night. It was when her mother finally went to sleep she would slip on her costume, and steal priceless pieces of technology and timeless gems.

Whatever she did, was for herself not her mother. The sooner she could pay off the debt her mother had mounted over the years, the sooner she could put her in a nursing home- or an asylum for that matter.

No more than ten minutes later, her mother's breakfast was ready, and she sat down with it, carefully cutting the egg in half and allowing it to cool before she dared to feed it to her mother.

"I'm _waiting." _She snarled, her ugly teeth bared.

"I don't want you to burn your tongue like last time, Mother." The urge to snap was growing as she spotted the clock hit seven. She needed to leave for school soon. The nurse was late- which was no surprise since her mother drove off every nurse they had ever hired in the past. If the nurse didn't show, she'd be stuck at home with her Mother, which was the absolute last thing she wanted.

"Just feed me bitch! If I could stick my foot up your ass right now I would!" She hissed, her teeth clenched as Mercy finally picked up the plate, stabbed an egg, and then fed it to her mother. Mercy got the feeling she was going to have to stuff the food down her mother's throat soon enough.

Her mother quietly chewed her food, and opened her mouth silently each time she wanted more. There was a knock at the door.

Mercy practically sprinted from her seat, and opened the door without even taking the time to glance through the peep hole. The nurse stood there, a look of dread on her face when she saw Mercy.

"Morning…" Mercy said with an apologetic look on her face. The nurse just frowned, glared, and then pushed past her, slapping a fake smile on her face as she walked towards Mercy's mother.

"Good morning Ms.-" Mercy's mother swore at the woman, demanding that she continue to be fed. The nurse scowled as Mercy ducked into her bathroom, showered for school in record time, braided her hair, dressed, applied her signature cat eye eyeliner, and then grabbed her backpack.

"Thanks Greta. I'll be home at the same time. Your check is on the counter under the vase." Mercy slammed the door to the apartment without another word, and sprinted down the hall towards the street. If she didn't hurry, her bus would leave without her.

Sure enough, just as she reached the front doors, she saw her morning bus pull away. Mercy didn't hesitate to sprint after it, running in the middle of the road in her black knee high boots, dark jeans, and black leather jacket paired with a thick, oversized knitted scarf.

"Wait!" She yelled. She soon realized that chasing the bus was hopeless, and returned back to the sidewalk to hail a cab. They were much more expensive, and she avoided them at all costs, but being late to school was not an option. Star City High did not seem to think that having a Mother paralyzed from the neck down was not a good enough excuse to be absent from school every time a nurse quit- which was quite often- or late. She had been mailed a truancy warning in the mail last week, and was not about to risk repeating her junior year of high school again. She was supposed to graduate early- with honors- and she wasn't about to give that up.

Because every last penny of those scholarships were going to go to putting her abusive mother in a nursing home, or, Mercy swore she would dive off of Star City's tallest building.

A cab stopped, and just as she reached for the handle of the cab, another did as well. She was prepared to tear the hand off of the body it was connected to if she had to, until she looked up, and her eyes met with a pair of blue ones.

"My apologies, ma'm." He said kindly, his blue eyes piercing her gray ones. He practically stunned Mercy, which was difficult to do, seeing that she dived off of buildings and took down men three times her size every night.

"Oh no, you're fine." She breathed as he opened the door for her. She eyed him for a moment longer, and then stepped inside the cab. He began to close the door with a smile on her face, and then just before it closed, he leaned in, and said:

"Have a good day, beautiful." The door closed, and Mercy felt her face turn pink as the cab began to pull away from the curb, leaving the handsome red-headed man on the sidewalk as he watched the cab pull away with a smirk on his face.

Mercy could not help but stare at him as he grew smaller and smaller.

"Where to, lady?"

-0-

"_Authorizing, B-0-6, Red Arrow." _The Zeta tube announced as Red Arrow entered in the middle of the Young Justice League's afternoon training session. Those not sparring at the moment turned to look at their new guest, and one of them greeted him with a cheery wave.

"Hey Red!" Chirped the Boy Wonder himself as he sparred with Black Canary, completing a back handspring and then another to avoid her strikes.

Canary looked towards Red Arrow, and then withdrew her attacks, calling off practice for the rest of the night. She pulled on her black jacket, and then walked towards him.

"I take it you're not here to just say hello?" She asked as she walked forward, straightening out her jacket as she did so.

"No. I'm bringing a mission to the League." He held out a thumb drive, and then tossed it to Canary, who eyed it for a moment.

"I ran it by Batman last night, if he shows up-" She was cut off by the Zeta tubes announcing another arrival.

Batman himself appeared from the Zeta tube, carrying himself as he always did a solid, stoic look on his face.

"Speak of the Devil." Red Arrow muttered as Batman approached. The Young Justice members heard his arrival, and rushed forward, awaiting their next mission. Batman approached Canary and Red Arrow, and then nodded in greeting. He looked directly at Red Arrow.

"The files?" He asked, holding out his hand. Red Arrow jerked his head slightly towards Black Canary, who held out the thumb drive. Batman took it out of her hand, plugged it into a port, and then began typing as soon as the holographic computer appeared in front of him.

"Red Arrow, this is your mission, the floor is yours." Batman announced as he stood tall once more, and looked towards Red Arrow, his voice deep and monotone.

Red Arrow hid his surprise well, and then eyed the group in front of him.

Kaldur, Robin, Wally, Conner, M'gann, and Artemis stood before him, waiting. All that could be heard for a moment was the sound of Wally chewing on a handful of chips rather loudly.

Red Arrow cleared his throat, and then motioned to a blurry photo of Night on the screen.

"For nearly every night this past six weeks, I've been chasing this thief, who so far has been dubbed _Night_ due to his dark clothes and… favor of late night burglary." Red Arrow sounded a bit miffed at the last statement. He was basically admitting that a simple thief had been evading him every night for weeks.

"Every night it's a new item of value of any sort. It could be particle cannon one day, or a priceless piece of jewelry, or an artifact from a museum. If it's worth anything, Night will go after it." He pressed a holographic button, and a closer photo of Night came up, along with a long list of stats.

"These are the skills I've noted during my scuffles with the thief. Long rang knife throwing, mixed martial arts, close range combat with knifes and basically any object nearby, highly skilled acrobatic skills, speed, agility, but no sign of metahuman abilities. He leaves no signature, but, I'm assuming, every single one of his blades are dipped in cobra venom, had have a perfect circle," An image of the blade and a toxicology report appeared on the screen. It was a black blade with a perfect silver circle engraved at the top of the handle, just above a carefully arranged wrapping. "Which…. I'm not sure what it stands for."

"He's already gotten away with over two million's worth of Star City's most prized possessions. And frankly, I'm tired of him slipping away from me each time." He practically snarled, causing the team to give him an odd look.

"Night's usual haunting hours are around midnight." Began Batman, picking up where Red Arrow had left off. "We've set up a fake Hope Diamond at the Star City Museum of the Arts, more than likely, Night will strike there."

"He's not easily fooled. He'll know in a moment's notice that the diamond is a fake. He _always _checks the authenticity of the item. For all we know, we could only have thirty seconds to capture Night with minimal fight." Speedy announced.

Robin stepped forward, a smirk on his face as he pressed his fist into the palm of his left hand, his stance indicating he was ready to take on the seasoned criminal.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's bring on the aster."

-0-

School had gone by as usual, even after Mercy's spectacular morning. She had entered, received her usual taunts and whispers behind her back, and then flew through her first three classes with her usual ease. It was the rest of the day that gave her trouble.

Fourth period, someone decided that throwing an energy drink across the room to see if they could possibly make it in the trash can would be a fantastic idea- and it crash landed on Mercy's desk, causing it to splash on her, and soak her Literature essay that was due the next period.

She attempted to turn in the essay, but the teacher demanded she rewrite it, and assigned her mandatory lunch tutorials for the day so that she could. Therefore, Mercy missed lunch as well, leaving her hungry for the rest of the day. Tech went by just fine, except for the fact that someone had stolen the power coupler on her device, which also happened to be her final exam grade. Her teacher had said he could order another, but it wouldn't be in for another week, leaving her to sit in class utterly useless, and forced to rush at the end of next week- the last week of school- to finish a project that was worth over half of her semester average.

But- at the end of the day, she collected herself as she walked to the bus, remembering that tonight was the night for business. Tonight, largest paying client would be handing over nearly $100,000 for her to steal from the Star City Museum of the Arts.

She didn't rush home like the other kids at school did. But took her time, getting off the bus one stop early so that she had to walk a block to get home, and taking small, slow steps.

She promised the nurse she wouldn't be late- and she wasn't planning on it, she always kept her promise. But today, more than usual, she dreaded coming home. Today had been less than wonderful, and granted it may be Friday, but for her that meant more rigorous jobs, and on top of that, she had two right one after the other on Saturday. How she was planning on evading the city's pep squad, she didn't know, but she was going to do whatever she could do so.

When she finally got home and opened the door to her apartment at exactly 5:00, the nurse practically ran out the door, reporting that her mother was freshly changed and fed and she had slipped her a sleeping aid that would keep her asleep for the rest of the night. The rushed words came to her like the sound of the hallelujah chorus in her ears. Her mother would be asleep for the rest of the night. Oh, the joy. She would have time to do her homework in peace, and anything else she wanted.

She settled on practicing her throwing in her room, and ordering a brand new set of weapons to add to her collection under the floorboards.

Over the years, Mercy had managed to collect an armory's worth of knives and lethal weapons and poisons underneath the floorboards. Weapons ranging from hundreds of throwing knives, swords, bowie knives, cobra, cotton mouth, jellyfish venom, and nameless illegal instruments.

She pulled out her favorite set, a pack of twenty small, black throwing knives with circles at the end of the handle she could spin them around her finger with. She didn't bother to cover her miniature armory back up with the floorboard; it wasn't like her mother was going to _walk in. _No one would walk in for that matter, and her blinds blocked out any view of her from any angle. She had checked herself.

Mercy leaned back in her chair, allowing it to teeter dangerously on its back two legs as before propping her feet up on her makeshift nightstand she pushed in front of her whenever she practiced her aim, or was preparing to go do a job. Her Kevlar and body armor was already laid out for the night, along with her face mask and the scarf that went over it. Her shoes were on the floor next to her tights and the Lycra shirt she wore underneath her armor.

Occasionally, Mercy would toss the knife in the air, catch it between her fingers by the blade, and then throw it at her target, almost always knocking the other one that had just been in the center onto a pillow she had placed on the floor specifically so the knives did not make a sound when they fell.

When Mercy felt it had been a while since she had moved from her position, and she had sorted out her thoughts for the night, she glanced at the clock.

It was already ten thirty at night, and so far, she hadn't heard a peep from her mother. She walked towards the bathroom, cleaned herself up, and unbraided her long, dark hair.

It fell around her shoulders in waves, having been braided all day, and she sighed, her gray eyes inspecting her image in the mirror for a while.

Her hair cascaded down her back and stopped at her lower back, carefully trimmed and kept by Mercy herself, but she braided it every day in order to keep it out of her way. Her gray eyes were what she believed to be average and mundane. Her full lips were too large, and her nose was just a little too round.

"_What am I doing?" _Mercy suddenly looked at herself, confused in the mirror as the though flitted through her mind. These were things her mother told her. She shook her head, and eyed the clock again as she reached for her brush.

It read 10:55.

It was time to start getting ready.

Mercy braided her hair, and then carefully pinned any loose hairs back that might obstruct her vision, and then walked over to her bed.

"To be Eternal is a great honor…" She breathed as she pulled on her tights, recalling something her mother had told her when she was young, and had just discovered her Mother's reason for being gone for weeks at a time and leaving her with their neighbors. "_Because anything that is Eternal means that it has, and always will triumph over all who stand before it_."

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**Oh you guys. I see you've be reading this story and I love it! **

**Say... one review and I post the next chapter? ;) **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It was 12:05, and there had been no sign of the thief Night.

Robin patiently watched the Museum before them as Red Arrow impatiently tapped his foot against the rooftop.

"_Guys, are we sure this 'Night' dude is going to go for this?" _Wally's voice popped into everyone's heads at once. Red Arrow grimaced a little. He wasn't used to the telepathic communication the team used during missions, and it made him a little uncomfortable that anything he thought would be broadcasted to the rest of the team.

"_Positive. Anything priceless or insanely expensive and you've got bait. It's just a matter of- Ah ha! There!"_Robin pointed a gloved finger towards the ally in across the Arrow looked up just in time to spot a figure in black on the ground break into a basement window, and then slip inside with the finesse of the criminal Night.

"_Move in quickly, every second we lose is a second he could slip away." _Red Arrow broadcasted as he and Robin made their way down from the roof, and into the ally way Night was just spotted breaking into the Museum in.

Red Arrow entered first, his bow drawn as he covered Robin so that he could enter.

The room was packed full of artifacts new and old, and it made the two seasoned crime fighters weary. Rooms like this just screamed DANGER around every dark, cluttered corner. Every ten feet a single bulb lamp lit the room, but most of them were out.

"_Keep moving. If we stand here for too long, we'll lose him." _Red Arrow announced to the team as he checked a corner, and then kept moving quietly down the aisles. Robin followed nearby, always within his line of vision.

The two continued down the aisles, checking their corners and moving quickly, Robin with a handful of stunners between his fingers, and Red Arrow with his bow drawn and ready to strike.

A figure leapt above them, and as if their name had been called, the two looked up immediately.

"_Something's not right." _Robin thought, causing Red Arrow to tighten his grip on his bow. Robin was right. Something wasn't right. Night wasn't the kind of thief to play with his food; he got in, got out, and never spoke a word. This suspect was _trailing _them, and making obvious moves.

"_That's not Night-"_Red Arrow was cut off by a metal disk flying past his face. Robin and Red Arrow quickly fired at the being down the aisle that had thrown the device, and ran. The two chased after the suspect as the small bomb finally ignited, causing the ground to shake, and the aisles of the basement to give in. One after another, the tall towers filled with priceless artifacts began to tumble, causing Robin and Red Arrow to sprint to safety.

Robin kicked down the door that led them out of the basement, and Red Arrow dove through it after him, just in time to evade the falling statue of a Chinese warrior.

Before the two had a chance to recover, Robin spotted the black figure running up the stairs.

"_Contact! Ground floor heading up!" _He announced as he leapt onto his feet, and began sprinting after the suspect with Red Arrow close behind.

"_It's not Night. Night doesn't mess around like that. He gets in, and gets out. I'm lucky if I even see him before the theft." _Red Arrow aimed at the running suspect, and fired as he thought, and to his upmost pleasure, the foam arrow hit its target, and caused the suspect to cry out as it became engulfed by the foam.

"_Suspect apprehended- proceed to the rendezvous point." _Robin reported as they approached the struggling suspect. It was a man dressed in all black. He obviously was not Night, and he stopped struggling as soon as he spotted Red Arrow and Robin.

Red Arrow pointed an arrow at the man, and his eyes narrowed at the hero.

"Talk." Red Arrow demanded.

The man in black just smirked under his mask, and then swallowed hard- before the two had any time to realize that he had just swallowed poison, his eyes rolled back into his skull, he twitched, and then he stopped moving altogether.

Red Arrow and Robin's eyes grew large, but they knew there was nothing they could do now.

Just for good measure, Robin reached into the foam, and checked his pulse. He was definitely gone.

"Whatever is going on, I don't like it." Red Arrow grumbled as he walked away, heading to the rendezvous point. Robin eyed the man for a moment longer, and then followed Red Arrow.

The two began running again, and when they opened the door to the floor the team was supposed to rendezvous on, a scene they did not expect unfolded in front of them.

The team was taking on over twenty of versions of the man they had just seen, and by the looks of it, they weren't going down as easily- and there were more crawling in through the windows. Robin and Red Arrow barely had any time to be shocked before five of them ran their way. A yellow blur knocked them all away like bowling pins, and Kid Flash appeared before them, a scowl on his face.

"Could you guys get here any slower?" Kid griped before becoming a yellow blur once more, leaving Robin and Red Arrow to fend for themselves.

"Well isn't this just _perfect_." Red Arrow snarled as he aimed at a group of black clad enemies, and fired a net at them. A few of them dodged it, but a handful of them became entangled in each other as the net closed around them.

"We still need to get to the diamond! Night may not be with these guys, but my guess is that he'll still try and collect his prize." Robin announced as he leapt onto one of the enemies shoulders, planted a small disk on his back, and then jumped onto another. Just as he leapt away, the disk on the man's back electrocuted him, and he fell to the floor in a heap.

What the worst part was, was that the Boy Wonder was right.

-0-

An explosion was something Eternal certainly did not want to hear tonight- or any night for the matter. Explosions meant loud noises, loud noises mean attracting attention, and attracting attention meant a greater chance of being caught.

And getting caught was not something any thief wanted.

Her small black figure quickly maneuvered through the air ducts quietly, and the finally came upon her exit. She could see the Hope Diamond from where she hid, but she could also see the scuffle going on just two floors above it. She spotted Red Arrow right away, shooting off his arrows in triples, the Boy Wonder himself was taking down criminals left and right, Kid Flash was merely a blur taking down black clad figures two or three at a time, and three other heroes she did not recognize were fighting as well.

The last one she saw was Artemis.

"Well, well, well." Eternal whispered to herself with a smirk on her face underneath her black mask. The two girls went far back, seeing that they had lived next door to each other for nearly ten years. While Artemis had been raised to be an assassin for the Shadows, Mercy had been her gateway to normalcy.

So much for _normal_ now…

Eternal determined that since her biggest threats were in the middle of a fight, and distracted, she would quickly snatch the diamond, and make her way out as quickly as possible. Before she had any second thoughts, she kicked the air vent's cover off, and dropped to the ground below, rolling to soften her fall. But when she looked up, she came face to face with a man, head to toe in black.

Eternal's eyes narrowed, and without a second's hesitation, she pulled out her curved close combat knife, and slashed his chest, causing him to yell loudly, clutching his chest. She didn't aim to kill him herself- but the Cobra venom on her blade would do that for her.

She turned on her heel, and sprinted towards the Hope Diamond, not even concerned about infrared lasers right now. More of those men dressed in black suits were crawling through the windows like ants, and some were even converging on her now.

As the Museum alarms began to blare, the League above Eternal dared to look down and away from their opponents for a second- just too spot Eternal hit a man in the shoulder with a poisonous dart which caused him to drop in pain a second later. She kicked away another, then use another as a weapon by breaking his nose, stunning him, and throwing him into another one of his 'friends'.

"He's here!" She heard Red Arrow yell. She could sense him aiming for her- he was just so bad at hiding the obvious, and she rolled just in time to evade his sharp arrow.

"We need to get moving! They're just going to keep bringing in reinforcements!" Eternal heard Artemis yell as Eternal dived towards the Hope Diamond in its glass container. The glass shattered, and Eternal snatched the necklace, just in time to miss one of Red Arrow's stunning arrows- it hit one of the fifteen men converging on her instead.

"RELINQUISH THE DIAMOND!" Eternal was stunned for a moment, mainly due to the fact that all the men in black had said the same thing at the exact same time, making the sound deafening. But that moment was not long lived, and she began to sprint. One five hundred pound man, maybe two or three, she could take- but fifteen synced men in black? She wasn't going to try it now.

But then, as she was running, she noticed the necklace in her hand glint strangely, and eyed it as she ran. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a large scratch across the very front of the diamond.

_Diamonds don't scratch. _

She scowled, and threw the glass necklace on the floor, the room falling nearly silent as the 'diamond' shattered on the marble floor, causing the synced men to turn, look at her, and then all narrow their eyes at once.

"I don't think that was a good idea…" Kid Flash whispered, causing his teammates to look at him. As if the whisper had awoken the figures in black, they moved suddenly, all of them chasing after Night at once, who was already scaling making her way towards the glass ceiling.

"Night may be highly skilled, but I am not sure he can take on twenty men on his own." Kaldur said as their opponents chased after Night, to their shock, they could scale the wall much faster, and Night was forced to leap off of the wall, and catch herself on a hanging light, quickly pulling herself up and catching her balance, and then run across the line of them over forty feet above the ground.

"I don't like the idea of helping a thief…" Robin threw several bombs towards the figures in red now trying to chase after Night. Robin managed to knock out a handful of them, but Night was forced to keep running.

"He's coming this way," Red Arrow announced, "If we don't catch him now we might never catch him."

"Yeah but how do you expect to capture him _and _hold off these guys?" Kid Flash retorted as he kicked away another bunch of black clad men. Night was less than ten feet away and approaching fast. Red Arrow grumbled, but Kid Flash was right. There would be no way they could capture Night and keep themselves safe at the same time.

Night was jumping over the railing now, but instead of stopping, and standing with them, she jumped onto Superboy's shoulders, using him as a platform to leap into the next room through the window above the door.

"Oh great, so he leads them to us but won't help us?" Artemis snapped as she shot several arrows at once. The irritation could be seen from under her mask. But less than a second later, the door room Night had just broken into flew open and narrowly missed Miss Martian.

"Follow me!" The voice that came from Night stunned them all. It was feminine.

"You're a girl?" Red Arrow yelled as he backed towards the room. The girl's face obviously wasn't visible to them, but underneath it she scowled. She didn't even look like man in her costume. She was tiny!

"Move faster or get skinned alive!" She shouted as she snatched his collar, and yanked him into the room. The rest of the team was already in the room. Red Arrow was caught by surprise, and pulled himself away from her hand before running into the room. Just as several men in black came running full speed towards the room, Night slammed it shut, and shoved a chair underneath the doorknob. She pulled a small cylinder shaped object out of her belt, and then threw it out the window above the door.

"That'll slow them down for a moment, but we have to keep moving." She announced as she ran away from the door, straight towards the window that lead to the overhang of the building's entrance. She broke through the glass with ease, and the rest of them followed without question. She began to lead them towards the roof, scaling the wall without a grapple. As Robin, Red Arrow, and Artemis shot off grappling hooks and Kid Flash, ran up the wall, a handful of the men broke the door open, and one shouted and pointed at the three, and they began sprinting towards them.

As their grapples pulled them up the side of the building, Robin grabbed Night by her waist, causing her to stiffen as the grappling line pulled them towards the top of the building.

"Sorry but we need to move a little faster." Robin apologized as the men began to funnel through the window, and make their way up the wall like spiders.

Night looked down at them, and scowled under her mask.

"Great." She snarled as she pulled a throwing spike out from under her sleeve. One hit one of the men in the cheek, and he fell with a loud cry.

"Stop that!" Red Arrow yelled at her as he, Robin, and Artemis pulled themselves onto the roof. Night sent him a glare from under her mask.

"I'm not killing them now am I? The venom on the blades is only enough to incapacitate someone, it's not fatal!" Well that was a lie, but it kept Red Arrow off of her back. She threw three knives down at once as she spoke, each hitting an individual target exactly where she wanted it to hit. Red Arrow scowled as he shot out a foam arrow, trapping several of the men- just for ten more to flood out of the window.

"Any bright ideas?" Superboy yelled as he kicked one of the men away. They were crawling up all four sides of the building. Aqualad and Miss Martian were fighting the hoards of men away the best they could, and Kid Flash was doing his best to thin out the men before they got to the rest of his team.

"Let me think!" Night snarled, aware that the remark was directed towards her.

"Think faster!" Kid Flash remarked. The irony almost made Night chuckle. Almost. She pulled out her sparring knives, and waited for the men to get closer.

Once they were close enough, Night, or Eternal, began slashing, kicking, and punching with such skill even Robin was impressed for a moment.

"Where do they keep coming from?" Miss Martian shouted.

"I don't know but we need to get out of here!" Aqualad yelled as he pushed three of them over the side of the building.

"We need a way to bottle neck them!" Night announced, causing the troop to look at her as they fought. As Red Arrow turned to look at her, another man crawled up the side of the building, and raced towards him. As Night ran up to her opponent, kicked him in the face, and then flipped off of him, she saw the man, and threw a knife mid air, hitting the man in the leg , and causing him to fall in pain before he reached Red Arrow.

Red Arrow looked at the man in surprise, and then continued to fight as he waited for an idea to come to him.

"Or just keep fighting?" Night yelled out, irritated by the lack of response. Then it hit her. "I got it! Group together in the center! Now!" She ordered. Superboy and Kid Flash glared at her.

"Why should we listen to you? You're the reason we're in this mess in the first place!" Superboy yelled angrily as he punched a man into a starry oblivion. As Night slashed at man's chest, the spun around, kicked his feet out from underneath him, and then pushed off of her hands and kicked another in the face with both feet before landing on her feet once more.

"Because I know what I'm doing and _I'm absolutely positive _no one here wants to DIE!" She snarled as she head-butted a man, then turned on her heel and slashed him his chest.

"She's got a point!" Robin shouted as he continued to fight towards the center of the building. The rest of the team followed.

"You!" Night pointed at Kid Flash, and he glanced at her.

"Kid Flash!" He snapped. Night narrowed her gray eyes at him from underneath her mask. "Don't care!" She snarled before running towards the center, taking out several more men as she did.

"Make a perimeter! Circle around us and give us some room!" She shouted as she finally reached the middle. Kid Flash begrudgingly listened, and he began to circle around the League, and Night.

The men got closer, and Kid Flash kept the perimeter as Night and the team stood back to back with each other.

"Keep in mind; you're going to jail after this." Red Arrow growled as he stood alongside Night. She smirked under her mask. She laughed a little, causing Red Arrow's eyes to narrow slightly.

"Oh, I'm _so_ sure." Night almost giggled. Red had to keep himself from taking her down right then and there.

"Alright, we've got about thirty of them. More, but we've taken down a over half of them. We can do this." Artemis didn't even sound that sure of herself. Night on the other hand, was still calm, and she was absolutely positive that she would be fine, along with the heroes who were supposed to be trying to catch her.

"Come on now," Night teased from under her mask as the first wave came sprinting towards them. "You're _Justice League_ shouldn't you have a little more faith in yourselves?" The troop's eyes widened at her somewhat encouraging words, but didn't have time to react.

Night and Red Arrow dove towards the first wave, fighting together side by side. Even though Red Arrow couldn't hate anyone more than the thief who had managed to evade him for nearly a month now, he couldn't help but be impressed by her skills.

"Behind you!" Night shouted at Red, but before Red Arrow could react, she threw a sharp black spike towards the man trying to attack Red Arrow from behind. Her spike hit the man so close to his aorta he staggered back, and then fell to the ground.

"Pressure point. Throw a knife into a gathering of nerves and they're down in no time." Night remarked with a smug tone to her voice as she backed up towards Red Arrow. The two were back to back, fighting together.

"Thanks. But don't think that means you get a get out of jail free card." Red Arrow remarked, making Night laugh as she fought behind him.

"You haven't been able to catch me before, Red. So what makes you think you can catch me now?" Her voice was smooth like silk, and her calm demeanor made Red even more irritated.

Within a matter of minutes, there was only one man left standing, and he nearly pissed himself at the sight of six members of the League and a highly skilled thief staring him down. He whimpered loudly, and Night chuckled slightly.

Before any of the Young Justice League could react, Night sprinted towards him, slashed his chest, kicked him in the head, and then used him as a platform to spring off of the edge of the museum.

"See you later Red!" She shouted as she disappeared into the darkness.

Red Arrow as about to chase after her, but Robin grabbed his shoulder.

"She'll be around Red. We'll get her." He said softly. Red Arrow growled, and pulled his shoulder away sharply before running over the edge of the building, and disappearing as well.

* * *

**Three reviews and three Chapters! I'm loving writing this story and I hope you guys like it too. **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Well, way to go _Eternal_. Throw about ten of your best knives away why don't you? Those were the last of your engraved ones too." Mercy growled to herself as she stripped the Kevlar and body armor off of herself, leaving on her tights and Lycra shirt as she laid out what remained of her weapons. She scowled at the sight of a half empty throwing knife sleeve, one throwing spike, and a two bloody close combat knives. She still had a handful of stun grenades left, but she tried not to use them at all since they were illegal for civilians to have and it was extremely difficult to get her hands on just one of them. She pulled up her chair, and put her booted foot on it, and reached inside her boot to pull out a straight edge close combat knife, and did the same with the other to pull out a karambit she only saved for extreme circumstances.

She counted the remainder of her throwing knives that she had brought with her. Only five out of the fifteen she had brought with her remained.

Mercy finally ripped off the scarf on her head, and threw it on the bed. Knives cost money that she couldn't afford to spend, and thanks to the Justice League and the army of Synced up guys in black, she wasn't going to receive $100,000 bucks anytime soon.

"Fucking fantastic…" She opened up the floorboards, and reached inside to pull out the large case that held most of her weapons. If she didn't restock her throwing knives now she would most likely forget and leave with a low supply of weapons.

She picked out the same type of black poly-fiber throwing knives with the circle at the end of the handle, a new set of black spikes, a few darts, and the bottle of cobra venom- which she noticed was running too low for her liking. That would be another $300 bucks down the drain.

Something about that night, with the loss of weapons and the failure of the theft aside, she was proud of herself. She didn't have to steal an item of tremendous value, and she may have been the reason that the members of Young Justice were still alive. The thought made her smirk a bit as she cleaned her knives.

"Finally got to do something decent with your talents?" A voice came from behind Mercy, causing her to whirl around, and throw the knife in her hand instinctively. The woman in the dress suit caught it between her slender fingers, and her cold stare remained stoic.

Mercy glared at the woman, or, android.

"Hello, _Mercy." _Mercy snarled, turning around and picking up her other bloody knife. Mercy, the android walked over to the bed, and placed the clean knife that had been thrown at her back on the bed, her light auburn synthetic hair swinging in her face as if it was real.

"What brings you here?" The black haired Mercy asked as she inspected her knife closely, looking for the smallest speck of blood or damage. The android Mercy looked towards the girl, her expression the same.

"I can't just visit Lex's second _Mercy _once in a while?" The Android stressed Mercy's name, and she glared at the fake woman that was now seated on her bed. The black haired Mercy turned back to her knives and costume, and began packing up her supplies.

"Not unless you're going to move my Mother out of here. It'd be nice if Luthor finally took responsibility for his _employees._" She sneered, taking off her Lycra shirt in front of the android Mercy. The human Mercy didn't care, as far as she was concerned, the android didn't either- embarrassment was not a function programmed into Lex Luthor's newest protector.

"Actually," Mercy stood, and pulled an envelope out of her purse. The human Mercy froze in place, and watched as the android held out the envelope to her. "One hundred thousand American dollars will be yours in a matter of twelve hours."

The human Mercy's eyes narrowed sharply. So _Lex _had been the anonymous client.

"But the diamond was a fake." Mercy sounded like she was accusing someone. The android Mercy continued to hold out the envelope. The black haired Mercy glanced down at it. "What? Did he write me a _check?"_Lex knew that cashing in 100,000 bucks would look suspicious. Android Mercy shook her head.

"No. They're instructions." Mercy finally took the envelope, but didn't open it. Android Mercy began to speak again. "Lex would like to meet up with you soon. He does miss his former _employees, _believe it or not. I wasn't exactly programmed for emotional bonding." At least Lex made her aware that she wasn't a human being unlike his first attempt at an Android Mercy.

"I'm just glad that he didn't make you look like me again." Human Mercy muttered as she looked down at the envelope. She reached up, and pulled on the strap of her sports bra before turning it over and spotting Lex's signature over the seal.

"If you have the time, Lex would like to see you for a luncheon tomorrow afternoon. We can arrange something for your Mother then if like." Android Mercy offered, causing the human Mercy to look up in surprise. The room was silent for a moment.

_What in the world does Luthor want now? _Mercy thought as she looked down to eye the envelope.

"Fine," Mercy said as she reached down and broke the seal on the envelope. She continued to open it as she spoke. "Where do I meet you at?" She asked.

"I've already arranged for a car to pick you up at eleven thirty tomorrow." Android Mercy announced as she walked towards Mercy's bedroom door. "A nurse will be here by five am-"Human Mercy looked at the clock and confirmed it was already four thirty. "-to watch over your mother. We wouldn't want you to be exhausted at your meeting tomorrow now would we?"

The human Mercy watched as the android walked out of her room, but pause at the door.

"Sleep well, Mercy." She said before walking away silently just as she had arrived. Mercy barely heard the door close, and began to wonder exactly how long Mercy had been there. She'd probably been there all night waiting for her.

Mercy looked back down at the envelope in her hands, and sighed at the typed instructions. Looked like she'd have _three _jobs Saturday night.

-0-

"Whoever attacked us, or _whatever_ those guys were, obviously wanted that diamond." Robin reported as he viewed security camera stills back at the cave the day after their scuffle with the army of black clad men and Night. It was around 10:30 in the morning, and the rest of the team had yet to arrive, but Red Arrow was already there, dressed in civvies with sunglasses snugly placed over his eyes.

"And while we're at it…"Red Arrow reached towards the holographic keyboard and pulled up Night's criminal profile. He changed the gender from male to female. The estimated height changed from 5'11 to 5'4 and her estimated weight from 170 down drastically to 100.

"Wow." Robin commented as he watched the virtual image of Night shrink and take on feminine features. She was still faceless, and they weren't even sure what color her skin was.

"She's smart. No doubt about that." Red Arrow snarled, still angry that she had slipped away once more. She had been right there, _directly beside him,_ and she got away. Again.

"Dude, calm down- she did basically save our lives." Robin said with a shrug. It was true. Red Arrow grumbled something inaudible as he walked towards the Zeta tubes. Robin noticed him walking away, stopped typing, and then looked towards his friend.

"Where are you going?" Robin asked, causing Red Arrow to turn around and look at Robin, whose hands were still poised over the computer.

"I've got things to do today. I'll be back later." Red Arrow said just before he stepped into the Zeta tube, and then left Robin to continue logging in last night's adventure.

-0-

It was close to 10:45 when Mercy awoke from her pleasant slumber. The nurse was doing a wonderful job of keeping her Mother preoccupied and quiet, but her first outburst of the morning had been her loudest, and long enough to wake Mercy.

The girl glanced at the clock on the wall, and decided now would be the best time to shower and get ready to go before Lex's car came to pick her up. Mercy threw the blankets off of her slender frame, and her long black hair swung into her face as she sat up. She blew it out of her face the best she could as she cracked her fingers, wrists, back, neck, and then stood to touch her toes, then the floor. She walked into her bathroom, and turned on the shower, leaving the room to allow it time to heat up. She walked to her small closet, and pulled out knee length dark gray dress with a low cut back, a pair of appropriate black heels, and her favorite black leather jacket, and an oversized knitted scarf.

After her shower, she braided her long black hair, applied a little makeup, and then dressed just as the clock read 11:45. She pocketed her cell phone, a thrust knife, which she tucked into the inside pocket of her jacket, and her wallet before walking through the front room, ignoring her mother's yells and greeting the nurse with a friendly demeanor.

She walked out of the building slowly, enjoying her relatively quiet morning, and then took a seat outside of her apartment building on the steps, watching as the hordes of people walked by her house. She lived in a busy part of Star City were civilians frequently passed by during the morning rush, and sometimes, she would sit outside of the apartment building and watch all of them pass by.

"So we meet again." The voice pulled her out of her reverie, and her grey eyes met with a fairly familiar pair of blue ones. It was the handsome man from yesterday who had called her _beautiful_.

She smiled at him, and he sent her a smile in return. "Indeed." Mercy's voice sounded as smooth as silk, and the man smirked at her.

"So, Stranger," Mercy began, the most flirtatious smirk grew on her face. The man leaned on the rail next to Mercy. "Have you been out here waiting for me? Or have you been walking by my building all this time?" She teased, causing him to chuckle. He shook his head.

"You make it sound bad either way." He smirked. Mercy narrowed her eyes, her lips still smirking at him.

"And how is that, Stranger?" She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly as she watched him eye her.

"Because I can't believe I've never seen you before. You're stunning." He said outright. Mercy felt her cheeks warm up slightly. She chuckled, and looked away in an attempt to hide her burning cheeks.

"I don't mean to intrude or anything," Stranger began as Mercy looked back at him, batting her grey eyes at him as he did. "But what are you all dressed up for this early?" He leaned in a little closer, and Mercy didn't back away. She smiled, and looked down at her dress before looking back up.

"Well, I have a luncheon with my Boss." She made sure that her explanation was relatively vague. As if he had been summoned, Lex's limousine pulled up to the curb, his company's logo fluttered in the wind on two small flags attached hood of the car. "That's my ride." Mercy sighed as she stood, brushing off the back of her dress before she walked towards the car. She didn't notice Stranger stare at the car strangely for a moment before practically rushing after her. Before she could reach the handle, Stranger pulled it open.

"Allow me." He said politely, sending Mercy a sweet smile. She smiled back, and placed her hand on top of the door, as if she was about to step inside. She paused before getting in, and then a slightly mischievous look grew on her features.

"Could I see your phone?" She asked Stranger. He gave her an odd look, and then placed a hand in his back pocket. Mercy laughed, aware that he was skeptical.

"I promise I won't steal it." She held up two fingers. "Scout's honor." He smiled at her and handed over his cell phone.

She quickly found his contacts, and entered her own number and her name before handing it back to him.

"Call me sometime, we'll have dinner." She winked at him, and then stepped into the car. The Stranger looked at his phone with a slightly surprised smile, and then leaned down to smile at her.

"Will do," He said before closing the door behind her, and then waving at the tinted glass.

Mercy granted herself a satisfied smirk as she adjusted her dress slightly, and then looked up at her fellow passengers. Lex Luthor himself sat at the other end of the limo with a smirk on his face. Mercy the android was nowhere in sight.

"Nice to see you, Mercy." He greeted with a permanent smirk on his face. Mercy's features became hard, and she watched Lex as he poured a glass of brandy for himself, and Mercy. Even though Mercy was underage, she accepted it gladly, and cheered to him across the limousine, and then chugged the brandy while he sipped.

She sighed quietly, eyed the empty glass, and then looked directly at Lex, who was still quietly sipping on his brandy.

"Nice to see you too, Lex. Long time no see." She held out her glass, and Lex took her it, but only refilled it half the amount he had the first time.

"Seventeen years old and drinking. That's a bad habit to get into, Mercy." He commented as he put the crystal bottle of brandy down. Mercy chuckled, and slowly rocked the brandy around the glass as she watched it before looking back up at Lex.

"This is the first drink I've had since we last met, Lex." She took a sip, trying to make the drink last. "And plus, after my Mother began to lose her _shit_ and the hell I've been through because of _you_, I think I deserve it." She practically snarled before taking another sip. Lex didn't even seem fazed by the comment.

"Still angry. Still Mercy." Lex took one last sip of his brandy. "I guess it's a good thing you haven't changed." Mercy shot him a strange look as she sipped her brandy.

"And why is that?" She questioned after she swallowed. Lex chuckled slightly, but didn't answer. The limousine stopped in front of Lex Towers, and the door was pulled open by the driver, who patiently waited for both Mercy and Lex to exit the vehicle. The Android Mercy was waiting for them at the front doors.

The human Mercy nodded in greeting to the Android Mercy, and she nodded in return; once Lex was next to her, she followed them closely towards the elevators, and Lex pressed the button that would lead them to the five star restaurant on the top floor.

"Well?" She asked again, which caused Lex to shoot her a sidelong glance.

"I'll explain after lunch. I'd recommend the caviar; it tastes divine this time of year…" He knew the subject change would irritate Mercy, but she went along with it. Lex was, after all, giving her an opportunity to get rid of her mother guilt and cost free, and was willing to pay her close to two million if she accepted the job offer he had sent to her with the android Mercy last night- granted, she succeeded.

Which she always did, obviously.

Lex and Mercy were led to a table in the far corner of the restaurant, and the android Mercy left them, returning to the elevator as soon as they were seated. A waiter came by, took their drink orders, and Mercy allowed Lex to order her appetizer for her since she hadn't eaten at such an expensive restaurant in very long time, and she couldn't remember what was good and what wasn't.

"Now," Lex leaned forward. "Let me explain something about your Mother." Mercy suddenly granted him her full attention. She had been fiddling with her napkin the entire time the waiter had been taking their order.

"What about my Mother?" Mercy questioned, smoothing out the napkin on her lap. Lex smirked, and took a sip of his water. Mercy hadn't touched hers yet. She was still trying to enjoy the aftertaste the brandy had left in her mouth.

"I did have a hit taken out on your mother once she…'retired'-"Mercy cut him off.

"Was _terminated,_ more like it." Mercy snapped. Lex continued as if Mercy hadn't said a word, let alone snapped at him.

"…after confiding in a close associate about the development of the G-gnomes," He paused and looked straight at Mercy, who was staring him down as if he was the item she was about to steal. "You do remember the g-gnomes, correct?" He asked. Mercy rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Telepaths. Teachers. Whatever, continue please." She waved her hand at him, and finally gave into her glass of water, taking a long sip before placing the glass back on the table.

"Your Mother was a risk. She could not even be considered any sort of _protective detail _by that point. And the ever growing threat of force against my life grows in power by the day. Your Mother… she knew too much, and she had made too many friends in the Shadows for my liking. She had to be executed- but in a manner that would look… _accidental_." He sighed, looked away from Mercy, and then continued.

"When I hired the hit, I was not aware that the hit man would try and kill your mother with you around. And he didn't even succeed in his objective." He leaned back in his seat, straightening his back and sitting tall.

"That's why-"he cleared his throat. "I chose you." He looked straight at Mercy before taking a sip from his glass once more. Mercy knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Chose _me _to be your next _bodyguard._" She grumbled as she narrowed her eyes at Lex. "I remember."

Lex released a satisfied sigh as if the water tasted more divine than before, and then set down his glass as he began once more.

"Of course you do."

The waiter brought their appetizers and drinks, and left the table with two curt thank you's from Mercy and Lex.

Mercy picked at her food at first, and then began to eat. Lex had chosen not to talk until after he was finished, so the two ate in silence. They remained silent through their meal, and after the waiter had taken their plates and left Mercy with a tall glass of cold passion fruit tea and Lex with a glass of water, it picked back up.

"So, I propose," Mercy leaned forward. "You place my mother in a nursing home…or asylum, whichever one seems better suited- and _you _pay all of the expenses. It wouldn't even put a dent in your wallet for god's sake. And as for me?" She eyed him questionably, and his eyebrow rose as he took a sip of water.

"As for you," He started after placing his glass back on the table and raising his hand to call for the check. "I'd like you to do some Intel work for me. Whatever jobs you have planned on Saturday, cancel them. I'll reimburse you." The two of them became silent again when the waiter brought the check. He gave them an odd look, and then left them once again.

"When and where is on your instructions," Mercy nodded, recalling the exact words in her mind. "And I'm sure your eidetic memory is still intact?" He questioned as he signed the check, and then closed the check book with two hundred dollar bills tucked inside of it. She nodded again.

"Good. Because what I'm asking you to do means that you'll need it more than even your weapons. I have associates that will clear the way for you, but you're the one who will be carrying the valuable information. Under no circumstances do you engage in conflict. Understood?" Mercy narrowed her eyes at Lex, a bit angry that he was ordering her to work with someone else, _and _stay out of conflict. He knew good and well that Mercy could take down anyone she wanted and she would walk away without a scratch.

"Why am I not allowed to engage in conflict?" she questioned. Lex smirked, and she scowled.

"I know you can take care of yourself Mercy. I made sure of that. But I afford you to take any risk, no matter how small. Get in, get out. Understood?" He asked as he summoned the waiter once more. He scurried over, took the check, and wished them both a good day.

"Thank you again, Esteban, everything was delicious." Lex said as he and Mercy stood from their seats, and Esteban thanked Lex for the enormous tip as they walked away.

They finally reached the elevator, and as the doors closed, Mercy answered Luthor.

"Understood."

-0-

It was around eleven in the dark city of Gotham when Mercy finally crossed the city's limits, the duffle filled with her costume and weapons seated next to her as she watched the strange city pass by from the back of the car Lex had sent to take her to her home for the night.

She was to conduct her business, and then stay in a secure room at the Waldorf Lex usually only reserved for himself. Her number one concern though, was to stay _away _from the infamous Dynamic Duo that guarded this city like eagles over their nest.

"Madame Mercy." The driver spoke as they pulled up to the Waldorf. Mercy looked towards the front of the car where the driver was speaking through the partition. "Master Luthor has informed me that your associate is upstairs waiting for you in your room. You have already been checked in and you will find your key with the doorman. Introduce yourself as Madame Ewig." He got out of the car before she could speak, and walked around to open her door for her.

"I bid you goodnight, Madame _Ewig_." Ewig was German for Eternal. "And good luck." Mercy stood there for a moment, and then smirked at him before wishing him goodnight.

As the car pulled away, Mercy walked towards the entrance of the Waldorf, and greeted the doorman with a smile, introducing herself as Madame Ewig.

He pulled out a room key from his pocket, and slipped it into her hand as she shook his.

"Have a wonderful night Madame Ewig. Pleasure to meet you." He nodded his head as he pulled the door open, and Mercy smiled at him as she walked through, and went straight towards the elevator to the top floor. She silently stood next to a man dressed in an expensive suit with a head of blond hair and a mustache to match, and patiently waited to reach the top floor.

"In town on business?" The man suddenly asked her, causing her to turn her head to look at him. She smiled as kindly as she could, and chuckled. He smiled at her kindly.

"Pleasure. Family visit." She gave a short explanation, and looked the man in the eyes. Oliver Queen, owner of Queen Enterprises. He nodded his head, and the doors opened to his floor.

"Have a nice night."Mercy said as he stepped off of the elevator. He looked at her softly, and then nodded his head at her in return before the doors closed.

Her stop was one more floor up, and when she finally reached it, she walked out of the elevators, and opened the penthouse doors without a second thought. When she walked inside, she placed her things on the floor next to the steps leading to the living area of the room, where her three costumed associates sat on the couch and armchairs sipping on drinks.

She recognized all three of them. Cheshire, in the flesh was sipping on a glass of water, while Hook, and Spider- who was staring at Mercy- sat on armchairs across from her.

"Good evening," Mercy greeted as she removed her thick scarf from her neck, and took of her jacket, revealing her backless gray dress to them all. "I assume you all already have your assignments?" She turned her back to them, and retrieved her things.

"Of course." Cheshire replied, turning her bare face to look at Mercy. "Nice to see you again, Merc."

"Same to you, Jade." Mercy replied as she walked towards one of the many bedrooms. She would be the only one staying here tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

After the four expert thieves and assassins had gone over their plan, they all left the building in ten minute intervals. First, Black Spider, through the skylight in the penthouse, then, Hook, through the back door of the hotel, and then Cheshire, through the front door with a trench coat on over her costume and pair of glasses over her eyes.

All that was left was Mercy, who was quietly tapping her foot against the marble floor of the penthouse, her shoes on, and her gliding gear on over her regular costume. The gliding equipment didn't impede her fighting or movement at all, Mercy just didn't like wearing it because it added another layer of heat she didn't need. Once the clock indicated that it was her turn to leave, she climbed up towards the skylight Black Spider had exited from, and easily pulled herself onto the roof, then sprinted towards the edge, and flew off of it, opening her arms and legs before she began to plummet before the ground.

She glided easily towards Wayne Tech, her own figure disguised in the dark sky as she carefully steered herself to stabilize her movements in the wind. The comm. in her ear chirped.

"We're in. Stand by. Clearing the building." Black Spider's voice came through as clear as day. She didn't reply, and focused on Wayne Tech, which was getting closer and closer by the second. If they didn't clear the building in time she was going to crash through the window and set off every alarm in the building.

"Security cameras are on loop. Disabling motion sensors and alarms now." Cheshire certainly worked fast, and just in time too, because right after Cheshire announced her success, Mercy had crashed through the window of the office belonging to none other than Bruce Wayne.

As soon as Night hit the floor, and rolled through the glass, she reached up to her comm., and pressed down on it gently.

"I'm in. Continue to clear the building. Meet me at the rendezvous point in three minutes; I should be done by then." She began towards Bruce's desk, and swiftly destroyed all forms of recording devices and alarms not linked to the building's security. She then pulled a flash drive out of her knife belt, and plugged it into the computer on the desk. It immediately turned on the computer, and began downloading files, ordering the computer to display them on the screen before copying them onto the flash drive so that Mercy could remember them and feed the information to Lex later.

"Get lost?"?" The foreign voice caused Mercy to growl. She could see the reflection of Robin on the glass desk. "You're a little far from home aren't you, Night

"You know, I'm a little busy right now," Mercy growled as Cheshire suddenly slammed the door open and flicked open one of her swords. "Talk to my associate." Cheshire dove over Mercy and the desk, straight towards Robin, and roared as she began to attack. Robin dove out of the way, and Night pulled a push knife from under her sleeve and held it in her hand while she read.

"Night! You didn't tell me you'd met the _Boy Wonder _before!" Cheshire teased as she fought the boy. Night continued to read, but her face underneath her mask twisted in confusion. Who was _Night? _She wondered. _I'm Eternal!_

"Old friends, less talking more slashing." Eternal replied with a snap. Cheshire let out a low whistle, and continued to fight Robin ruthlessly.

"Time?" Cheshire demanded. Eternal glanced at the loading bar for a split second and returned to her reading.

"Thirty seconds. Wrap it up Cheshire." Night continued to read, and Cheshire smirked under her mask, and then pushed Robin back towards the edge of the broken window so hard he nearly fell. Cheshire threw a dart towards him, and as he evaded it, but he stepped back too far, and slipped out the window, leaving him to catch himself on the edge of the broken window, dangling by the tips of his fingers. Cheshire walked up towards him slowly, and chuckled.

"Oh, you poor thing-" Cheshire was interrupted by Night.

"Don't play with your food, Cheshire just get rid of him!" Night snapped as she began to wrap up her reading. Cheshire growled, and then stomped on Robin's hand so hard even Night heard his fingers crack, but Robin did not give them the satisfaction of a cry. Cheshire then lifted her other foot, and stomped on Robin's other hand even harder, causing the Boy Wonder to cry out, and release his grip on the edge of the window, and fall, screaming as he plummeted towards his fatal ending.

"Done. Lets get out of here." Cheshire turned around as Night spoke, and she watched her pull out the flash drive before turning on her heel, and sprinting towards the window.

"Sayonara, Cheshire." Night said as she leapt out of the window, and disappeared into the night, leaving Cheshire to sprint out of the billionaire's office on her own.

As far as Night could tell, or, _Eternal,_ the job had been a success.

-0-

Once Night had come back to hotel room after taking the long route, she carefully repaired the skylight, and then allowed herself a moment to bask in her future wealth. In total, Lex would owe her close to three million after tonight. _Three million American dollars._

"Wonderful…" She sighed as she leapt off of the bed, and walked towards the main room, but the sudden feeling of another presence caused her blood to run cold, and before another soul could blink, she pulled her curved knife out of its sheath, and spun on her heel, thrusting it into towards the figure that had been standing next to the wall. The masked figure moved just in time, and the knife lodged into the wall, but Mercy pulled it out quickly, and her second curved knife slide out from under her sleeve and into her hand. The figure threw a weapon, and as Mercy deflected it with one of her knives, she noticed its bat-like shape.

"Oh, this is quite the honor." She chuckled as she watched the Dark Knight himself fan out four more batarangs in his hand. He was just as ready to strike as Mercy was. He didn't speak. "I get to fight the _Bat._" Mercy sprinted towards him, and vaulted over the couch, dodging and deflecting batarangs with no trouble once so ever. She was less than a foot away when she heard the familiar sound of an arrow being released, and she swiftly sliced the arrow in half with her knives, and slashed at the Dark Knight, just for him to pull out another set of batarangs, and block her blows.

"And you brought help? I thought you worked alone?" Mercy snarled as Night. She heard another arrow, and leapt off of Batman just in time for it to lodge in his own Kevlar lined costume. Mercy landed on the kitchen counter, and finally spotted Green Arrow taking aim from the second bedroom, and pulled out a poisoned spike.

She threw it, just to watch with an eerily calm demeanor as one of Batman's batarangs knocked it off course. Green Arrow finally came out of his hiding place, an arrow aimed at Mercy's forehead.

"Mercy!" Mercy froze at the sound of her real name coming from an enemy's mouth. Batman had been speaking, and as he walked forward, he held another handful of batarangs, poised to throw them at Mercy, who was still poised in defense, her two curved knives in her hands.

"_What do you want_?"Mercy demanded with a snarl; she took a step back on the counter, and knocked over a glass of brandy Black Spider had left behind. It crashed to the floor, and interrupted the sudden silence in the room. She saw Green Arrow smirk from across the room, and another throwing knife slide out from under her sleeve with a flick of her wrist. She pointed her knife at him.

"Smirk at me again and I'll slice your lips off." She snarled again, keeping an eye on Batman in her peripherals. He was still poised the same way, a frown on his face and batarangs prepared to throw at Mercy, or Night.

"That's quite the threat. But we're really not here to fight." Green Arrow replied, lowering his arrow. Mercy couldn't help but let loose a laugh.

"Oh that's a _splendid _idea, lower your weapons and make it easier on me." She raised her knife higher, and Batman threw one of his Batarangs. Mercy deflected them, and one even narrowly missed Green Arrow's head. Green Arrow swiftly glowered at the Dark Knight.

"Mercy, we're here to help you." The deep growling voice of Batman came from nearby, and Mercy allowed her eyes to divert towards it for only a moment. Then the feeling of another presence nearly overwhelmed her.

"Three against one? Is that what you call helping?" Mercy snarled as she whirled around, now completely surrounded. Black Canary appeared from the shadows behind her. "What do you _want?"_Mercy was nowhere near panic. She was furious. She had been trained to take down every member of the Justice League, _at the same time_, and she was sure as hell that this wasn't a test.

"We want to give you the opportunity of a better life." Black Canary said from behind Mercy, her voice gentle. Mercy ruthlessly threw a knife in her direction, and Black Canary narrowly dodged it. Upon closer inspection, a tear through her jacket revealed a cut left by the blade now lodged in the far wall of the penthouse.

"What better ways to do that then attack me in my own hotel room…" Mercy snarled as she lowered her weapons, but kept alert, her knuckles turning a bright white front the death grip she had on the handles of her knives.

"And we apologize for that." Green Arrow stated as he took a step forward, Mercy pushed his advance back by pointing one of her knives towards him. He raised his hands, lowered his eyes towards the floor, and took a step back with a huff. "But this was the only way we could contact you without raising the suspicions of your_ employer._" He sneered. Mercy scowled, and muttered a swear word under her breath.

"We know about your mother, your affairs, and your transactions, Mercy." Batman said as Mercy glowered at him from underneath her mask. Her gray eyes might as well have thrown a blade themselves. "We know you've been working for a way out."

Mercy growled.

"A way out? I'm already there. If you know of my transactions, then you'll know that my _Mother _is taken care of and I'll be a speck of dust in the wind by tomorrow afternoon." She snapped. Even though Mercy was angry, she sheathed her knives, but made sure to keep her guard up as she took a seat on the couch, now facing all three Justice League members. Batman also put his batarangs back in their place, while Black Canary and Green Arrow stood with their arms crossed.

"And you really think Luthor will go through with handing over three million to you?" Batman groveled as Mercy crossed her legs, her arms spread wide across the head of the couch.

"I've known him my entire life. I know when the man is lying and when he'll actually pull through." She sighed, plus the fact that she knew exactly how, when, and where to kill Lex if he didn't go through with their agreement, and she even knew how to keep his android bodyguard Mercy out of her way. "And he's sitting on top of a multi-billion dollar empire. Three million wouldn't even make a scratch in that man's check book. Not even a knick in Bruce Wayne's for crying out loud." She twirled a knife between her fingers as she spoke. Black Canary's eyes narrowed and her hands moved to her hips.

"You don't want to help people? Like you did the Justice League last night?" Black Canary asked as she gave Mercy a quizzical look. Mercy's knife stopped twirling as she remembered what the android Mercy had said to her afterwards.

"_Finally got to do something decent with your talents?"_The words echoed through her mind like a broken record. She looked up at Batman from underneath her mask, and pulled down her scarf, revealing the full black helmet she wore. She noticed Batman narrow his eyes at her.

"Has Luthor been watching me this entire time?" She asked quietly, her voice almost a whisper. After a moment, Batman only nodded.

After all this time after Lex had told her she was being replaced, she was still his plaything. His _toy _and endless source of criminal entertainment.

"You were Lex's first successful guardian. His second Eternal." Mercy's head snapped up towards him at the sound of the name. "It was only a matter of time before you found out he has never taken his eyes off of you."

She could feel her rage bubbling to the surface. Lex had promised that he would keep his hands off of his precious creation's life after her 'retirement' and yet more and more anonymous clients came running to Mercy, offering thousands of dollars for a measly piece of metal or a mere diamond. All of them had been Lex. He had been building up _his _creation's fame in the press and teasing the Justice League with her. She had been his puppet this entire time.

Mercy suddenly stood, and reached up towards her mask, causing the three Leaguers to tense, but she paid no mind, because she was about to break her number one rule- never remove your mask.

She pulled it off, and her braid fell down to her waist as it always did, but this time, instead of coming face to face with a gentle girl, Mercy's rage was the first thing you saw.

It was truly a strange sight, seeing the infamous Eternal without her mask and scarf on, but it meant good news for the Leaguers in the room. She was ready to join them.

"How?" She demanded, looking directly at Batman with her gray eyes. Green Arrow and Black Canary were still having a difficult time accepting the sight of the small girl in front of them being the cause of their troubles as of late, and Mercy could tell.

"Cameras, people, decoys, listening devices." Batman held out his hand, and then turned it over. Three small cameras Mercy had not even noticed fell out of his hand and onto the floor.

"We disconnected them once we got here." Black Canary announced. Mercy shot her a suspicious look.

"How do I know you didn't just bring those with you?" Mercy spat, waving her mask around as she spoke. She was certainly losing her patience here, and the line was getting a little too close for comfort. Batman kicked one towards her, and she eyed it from where she stood.

"He even left his logo on the side. Made it easy for you." Green Arrow chirped. Mercy glowered at the tiny camera, and then withdrew a knife from her sheath. She ran the flat side along her thumb, and then with lightening speed threw it at the camera on the floor, slicing it in half with ease.

She then turned around, facing the window that displayed Gotham's city skyline in the finest way. Billowing smoke and all.

After a few moments of silence, Mercy turned her head to the side.

"So what exactly are you offering?"

-0-

That morning, Black Canary had escorted her out of the Waldorf herself, long before Mercy's car should arrive, and returned her to Star City. She informed Mercy that she would require a new alias, a new costume, and a new everything in order to join this _team_ they had informed her of last night.

But Mercy was still a bit skeptical. After seventeen years of knowing Luthor, she thought she had him all figured out. Apparently not.

"We have fifteen minutes to gather your things and get back to the car. Understood?" Canary said as she put the car into park in front of Mercy's apartment complex. Mercy only nodded, and stepped out of the car with Canary, whom both were dressed in civilian clothes. The two headed up the apartment, and Mercy quickly unlocked the door with her key, and held it open for Canary, who stepped inside silently.

Her mother was gone. As Luthor promised. But the briefcase filled with the money he had promised, was not. He claimed he would leave it where her mother had lied for the past three years. All that was there was a line of dust outlining where the hospital bed used to be.

"Come on." Mercy snapped as she led Canary to her room. She showed Canary her closet, and the hero began packing her clothes into large duffle she had found at the top of the closet. Mercy knew from experience that everything she owned fit inside two medium sized duffle bags. Clothes and weapons.

Mercy had brought up her duffle filled with her costume and knives with the intention of stashing the 50,000 dollars tucked underneath the floorboards where she had moved it before she left for Gotham, and the rest of her armory. Canary and Batman protested until she pointed out that sharp objects where her area of expertise, if they took that away from her, she would retract her acceptance. The compromised, and told her she was not allowed to use any sort of lethal poison any longer.

Batman was having a new costume made for her; he said it would be very similar to her own costume now, but different in order to keep her past separate from her future.

After she had carefully arranged her weapons in the bag, she placed the briefcase with the money inside of it into the duffle as well. The blood money was not a part of the deal, but the briefcase was small enough to make it look like a weapon was stored inside of it.

"Ready?" Canary asked with the bag full of Mercy's clothing over her shoulder. Mercy looked up from her bag, and notice her target on the wall. She plucked it off of the wall as she walked towards Canary, and nodded, slipping the tortured yellow target into a side pocket of her bag.

_This is your new beginning Eternal. _Mercy thought to herself. _This is where you change yourself for the better, or for the worst. _

**-**0-

Once Canary had brought Mercy to Mount Justice and gotten her inside without alerting the so called 'team' she would be joining, Batman had approached Mercy, and asked for her old costume. Mercy had very reluctantly handed it over, and Batman in return handed her a black bag with a set of dual wield kukris on top of it.

"Put that in your bag. You can look at it later. If there's any problem with the fit, let Black Canary know, she'll bring it to me and I'll have the adjustments made. As for your old suit," Mercy caught herself staring at it longingly, and looked back up at Batman. "I'll hold it."

Mercy looked down at the black bag with the new costume inside of it, and the dual wield kukris, and suppressed a sigh as she placed them inside of her bag with her other weapons.

Canary left her for a moment to take Mercy's things to her new room, and Batman simply walked over to what Mercy assumed to be the Batmobile, and place her old costume inside. She was tempted to kiss it goodbye, but she knew good and well that that would have been absolutely ridiculous. She noticed him walking back ring in between his fingers, and he held it out to her once he was within arm's reach.

Mercy eyed it for a moment, and then took them from his hand.

"This ring is from a member of the Justice League named Zatara. He made it just for you so that you could keep your identity a secret, which is something you should never give away- even to those close to you." He explained as Mercy inspected the ring. It was a small abstract bird made of silver, onyx, and turquoise. She actually thought it to be quite adorable.

But once she was wearing she put it on, she didn't feel any different, and she looked at her hands with a confused expression on her face. Then, she leaned down towards one of the mirrors on one of the motorcycles nearby her, and had to suppress a gasp. Her eyes were now a light blue, so close to her natural gray that you had to look closely to notice, but her hair was now a deep shade of red instead of its usual midnight black, but when Mercy picked up one of her long locks of hair, it still appeared black. She looked back at the mirror, and realized with a chuckled that she also had a slight tan to her skin with the ring on, and out of curiosity, held up her pale hand to the mirror for comparison. When she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, she glanced up, and spotted Batman walking silently away from her.

"Nice…" She muttered as she tucked a piece of midnight hair behind her ear, and began to follow Batman, who she hadn't realized was walking towards the approaching Black Canary, who had changed into her usual uniform.

As Mercy approached, she heard Black Canary announce to Batman that the team was waiting in the briefing room, and seem to be more ancy than usual.

_Great._ Mercy thought. She looked towards Canary, just to spot her smirking at her. For a moment, Mercy forgot exactly why Canary was smirking, and glared back.

"Zatara did a good job." She noted as she looked Mercy over. Mercy realized then that she was going to have to get used to people looking at her strangely. Canary looked Mercy in her now pale blue eyes, and smiled. Mercy felt herself feel shocked that the smile looked _genuine_. Not like the kind she had seen most of her life. Pasted on, faked, or so heavily botoxed that all they could do was smile.

"Ready to meet the team?" Canary asked as she turned on her heel and led them down the hallway that led deeper into Mount Justice. Mercy made a small sound of approval as she gazed about, and almost blindly followed Black Canary and Batman down the hall as she moved her bag to rest on her shoulder and began to twist her ring around her finger. She could already feel a new habit forming and quickly stopped herself and forced herself to cross her arms.

Once the three reached the door, Canary pushed it open, and stopped to motion for Mercy to come towards her so that she and Mercy would be the first two to enter. Mercy swallowed, and then approached Canary as she pushed the door open, revealing the group of six junior heroes she had saved just two days ago.

Once their eyes landed on Mercy, she could feel their excitement grow, and before she knew it, Kid Flash had suddenly appeared at her side.

"Hey there-" Kid moved to place his arm over her shoulder but before he could get his arm anywhere near her, Mercy's instincts kicked into overdrive, and she snatched his arm, and threw him over her head so hard that dust kicked up off of the floor when he fell several feet away from them.

Mercy suddenly realized she had just attacked a member of her new _team_, and her now blue eyes grew wide as she straightened up, and eyed the five left standing in a group before her. They were all watching her, their eyes just as wide as hers.

Suddenly, Artemis threw up her hand, and pointed towards Wally.

"I like her already." Artemis smirked as 'Wally' finally picked himself off of the floor with Canary's assistance. Mercy grinned at Artemis, her old friend, and then released a small chuckle.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Hey, did you hear we got a new member, dude?" Wally's question was nearly drowned out by the sound of his own chewing as he spoke to Roy Harper, who was sipping on his own drink, sunglasses over his eyes and dressed in civvies just like Robin and Kaldur, minus the sunglasses for Kaldur. Roy's eyes shifted towards Wally as he spoke, but he leaned back slightly in an attempt to avoid Wally's 'spray zone'.

"I mean, you've gotta come by one day. She's pretty hot." He pointed a thumb towards Robin, who instantly knew what was going to come out of his friend's mouth next. "And she even kicked Robin's but during training. Heck, when I first met her, she threw me clear across the room because I _surprised_ her."

Roy raised an eyebrow at the statement, but Kaldur cleared his throat, already prepared to correct the mistakes in their friend's tall tale. At the sound of Kaldur clearing his throat, Roy turned towards him, his eyebrow still raised as if demanding an explanation.

"She did not throw Wally _clear across the room_, so to speak, but a remarkably long distance for such a small girl. And she and Robin were-"Robin interrupted him.

"She kicked my butt, okay?" Robin nearly shouted as he crossed his arms and tried to resist the urge to pout. His friends were momentarily stunned by his outburst. "Kicked my butt to kingdom come and back." He muttered the last part, but Roy heard it, and stifled a chuckle.

"Well," Roy looked around at his friends as he lifted up his water. "What's her name?" Wally was the first to respond.

"Eternal. I think I'll call her Etta. Or just Et." He spoke just after he swallowed his food, his friends grateful for this small blessing. Robin chuckled.

"I wonder how far she'd throw you if you actually called her that." Robin's chuckle turned into a laugh when he caught his friend's less than pleased expression. Kaldur and Roy caught themselves smirking at the jab towards Wally as well. Robin looked towards Roy and continued explaining.

"Said she's Black Canary's _step_ niece," Robin rolled his eyes from behind his sunglasses, and Roy narrowed his eyes. "But we all know how that goes."

"Meta?" Roy asked as he looked around at his friends. Robin shook his head. "No powers? Like us?" He pointed back and forth towards himself and Robin. Robin nodded in response with a smirk on his face.

"And she's made friends with Artemis." Wally commented, causing the table's residents to turn towards him just in time to see him shove a handful of fries in his mouth. The three boys watched Wally with slight disgust. Even after all these years of watching Wally eat, it was difficult to hold an appetite around the boy. "Like, best friends. Eternal even teaches her moves and stuff. It's weird."

Roy and the rest of the table became quiet when the waitress came by to return Roy's credit card, and swiftly scribble her phone number down on the check just before she walked away- swinging her hips as she went.

"Look at mister Harper over here." Robin teased as the four boys exited the café, and began the trek towards their motorcycles a mile away. Roy smirked and ruffled his short friend's hair, or attempted to, since Robin swiftly swatted Roy's hand away.

"So will you be coming with us?" Kaldur asked as they walked down the road a few more feet, and then turn into the woods where Roy removed his sunglasses and replaced them with his mask so quickly no one could see a thing. Roy shrugged. He'd had a good week so far. Night had taken a break and he had all the time he wanted on his hands during the day with school over with.

"Sure. Why not meet the infamous _Eternal_ you speak all speak so highly of."

-0-

Eternal had been sitting in her room for most of the day that day. After training, nothing really exiting had happened, and the rest of the team was out. She was alone in the cave- minus Red Tornado, but she rarely saw him. She was throwing her small knives at her worn and torn target, her knives falling onto a pillow each time she knocked one out of the wall.

She sighed loudly, and then turned to look at the black bag with her new costume in it next to her kukris on the desk across the room. She shifted her head on her pillow, and continued to look at it.

She hadn't even opened the bag yet, she was having such terrible withdrawals from her old costume that Mercy didn't even want a new costume. She wanted her old one.

Mercy sighed loudly again, and swung her legs over the side of the bed so that she was be sitting upright, and gave the bag a hard stare as if it would wither underneath her gaze. Of course, it did not, and she glared even harder.

"What color would the Bat choose for me anyway?" She wondered out loud as she stood, and walked over to the desk. If the bag would have had eyes, it would have been glaring back at her hard stare.

Mercy finally picked it up, and brought it back over to her bed as she unzipped it.

It was a deep burgundy color that made Mercy's eyes widen in surprise. She had been expecting maybe a deep purple, or dark blue color.

"Huh…" She marveled as she pulled it out of the bag with one hand, holding the bag in the other as she eyed the soft, light fabric the costume was made out of. "How can this _possibly-" _She stabbed at it with a throwing knife, and the knife didn't even leave a scratch. Her eyebrows shot up in shock as she looked at the unscathed fabric.

Just to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, she tried it again, and yet again it didn't leave a scratch.

"Holy shit." Mercy gaped as she tossed her knife over towards the target. Even though she wasn't even paying attention- the knife hit the target dead center.

She checked the thinness of the fabric again, and had to suppress another swear.

"Holy mother of balls this is amazing." She said to herself as she threw the costume on the bed and began to undress so quickly she was practically tearing off her clothes. Forget the old costume, this one was so much cooler and she hadn't even put it on yet.

Once she had pulled it on, she ran to the mirror, and quickly zipped it up, and marveled at how perfectly it fit. It was several shades darker than her disguised hair, and her false blue eyes popped like lights. But that wasn't the point of the costume, which was something Mercy had to continuously remind herself of as she began testing the dressed boundaries. She did a few high kicks then threw a few punches before looking back in the mirror with a satisfied grin.

"I look _hot_." She whispered to herself as she turned around and gave her own backside a good look. Mercy then looked towards her bed, and then walked over to retrieve the boots and the utility belt.

They were the same color as the rest of her suit, and she quickly strapped on the belt and slipped on the boots. Inside of the boots where special sheaths for a small knife to fit into, and the utility belt already held a new set of blades that were the same burgundy color from the tip of the blade to the end of the hilt. She brought it close to her face for a better look, and sighed in content.

"Oh, that Bat knows exactly what he's doing." Mercy muttered to herself as she finally pulled out the domino mask, which was also burgundy. "_Exactly_, what he's doing."

Once she had on the entire uniform, she picked up the kukris, and their designated holster and threw it over her shoulders as they should be, then braided her hair as she always did.

She looked at herself, and smirked.

"Perfect. Way to go Bats." She then reached up, and took off her domino mask, and pulled out the hair tie keeping her braid together, and just in time for Kid Flash to come barging through her door, skidding to a stop right in front of her.

"Hey Etta, come and meet-" He stopped short when he finally saw what she was wearing- _or_ 'Etta's' narrow eyes and the feeling of the cold tip of a kukri touch his throat. Once she realized whose throat she was holding a blade to, her eyes widened, and she sheathed the kukri with a sigh.

"You have _got _to quit doing that, Wally." She snapped as she thrust a finger at his chest. Wally rubbed the spot with a small expression of pain and then looked at her with a confused expression. When he continued to stare at her, but now with a different expression, she stepped back, and gave him a once over.

"Wally, do you need something or were you just trying to see what I would do if you rushed me again?" Not like it would be the first time since she moved into Mount Justice. Which, quite frankly, she was doing a fair job of adjusting to; she acted normal, she made friends with most of the team right away, and she didn't act suspicious or brood in a dark corner about her past. That was what she had been trained to do. Blend in when necessary, but stand out in a fight.

Wally finally snapped out of it, and shook his head.

"N-no! Hey, _Eternal_, did you know you look _great_ in that suit?" He winked, returning to his normal self quickly, and she sent him a glare.

"Wally." She snapped as she clapped his arm hard with her left hand, and then squeezed just hard enough for it to be painful. Wally winced a little, but his smile remained. "What. Do. You. Want?" She let go of his arm when she finished her choppy sentence.

"Oh!" Wally smacked his forehead. "Hello, Megan. I wanted you to come meet a friend of mine." He suddenly grabbed her arm, and before he could drag her to the main hall of Mount Justice, she hit his arm away with enough force to knock a large man off of his feet. Wally stumbled back, and ran into the desk before hitting the chair and then landing face first on the floor.

Mercy, or, right now, Eternal, smacked her own forehead, and sighed loudly as she heard Wally get up.

"Alright. I quit. I'm done touching you." Wally groaned as he stood, rubbing his nose with a look of displeasure on his face. Eternal smirked, and led herself out the door, her head held high, and her red hair swinging behind her. Kid Flash smiled with a smirk, and raced ahead, causing a gust of wind to swing Eternal's hair into her face, and tangle it more than it already was.

"WALLY!" She shouted in angrily as Wally's streak of green disappeared around a corner, leaving Eternal to flip her now even messier hair back over her head.

"Good god I need a haircut…" She muttered to herself as she attempted to untangle her hair with her gloved fingers. In another minute or so, she approached the main room, or as it was frequently called, the briefing room, but was too busy now trying to untangle her fingers to acknowledge the semi-familiar being standing next to her teammates. When she finally heard someone clear their throat, she practically ripped her fingers out of her hair, and ignored the short cry of pain her scalp made.

She looked up with her false blue eyes, and immediately spotted Red Arrow. But as far as she was _supposed to _know as Eternal, he was another fellow hero that she had never met before. She sent him a small grin, and then shot a glare at Wally.

"You're buying me a hair cut if you're going to keep pulling that stunt." She snarled as she pushed back her dark red hair once again. Wally imitated her, and then dodged one of Eternal's infamous glares by disappearing in a blink of an eye, and appearing next to Red Arrow.

"Eternal, meet Red Arrow, Red Arrow," Eternal held her hand out for him to shake, but Red Arrow did not uncross his arms, or even twitch for the matter. Wally noticed the tension, and his voice became discouraged. "And uh… yeah." Eternal continued to hold out her hand, even though her eyes had narrowed, and her lips were pressed together in a thin line.

"Well?" Eternal held her hand up higher, and she felt Red Arrow look towards her hand. Red Arrow didn't say a word, and the silence carried on for moment longer.

"Black Canary's niece, huh?" He suddenly asked as Eternal finally lowered her hand, and crossed her own arms. Her left eyebrow shot up.

"_Step_ niece." She corrected. "And even better yet. I'm _adopted._ So technically- I'm not her niece at all, if that's what _you were looking for_." She sneered at him, causing the white eye slits to narrow at her.

Without another word, Red Arrow turned on his heel, and walked towards the Zeta tubes, despite his friend's protest, and he left without another word.

"Some great friend you guys have." Eternal growled as she turned on her heel as well, and walked back towards her room. "From now on, if you want me to meet someone, make sure they have some _manners_, unless you'd like me to cut their head off of their shoulders." And with that, she disappeared behind the corner, leaving Robin, Wally, and Kaldur to steam at their temperamental friends.

Not fifteen minutes after Eternal, or, now Mercy with the door locked and bolted behind her, had come back to her room and changed out of her suit, her cell phone rang, something that rarely happened anymore- and she squinted at the vibrating phone as it chimed its factory set ring tone over and over.

She walked over, her utility belt over her shoulder and her kukris on the desk across the room, and picked up the phone. Unknown caller. She answered anyway.

"Hello?"Mercy chirped in her regular voice "Mercy speaking." She said the last part a tad hushed, just in case anyone was listening.

"Ah, so that's your name." Mercy's eyebrow rose at the remark, and the caller quickly tried to catch his fumble. "I mean, uh, its um… Stranger? I opened the cab door for you and-"

"Called me Beautiful," Mercy finally smirked, and she could feel the caller on the other end relax as she spoke. "I remember. So," Mercy flopped onto her bed, her uniform still on. "What can I help you with, Stranger?" She asked as she raised her feet towards the ceiling, and then reached up with her free hand and began untying her boots. It was truly a scene meant to be depicted on a pin up poster.

"I was wondering if I could take you to dinner, maybe tonight or tomorrow." He asked, causing Mercy to smile. "I know its short notice but-" Mercy cut him off.

"Oh no, short notice is my specialty," She said, causing him to laugh a little. "Tonight would be great though- but under one condition." She felt him freeze a little on the other end of the phone. And he sighed quietly before speaking again.

"And what is that condition?" He asked gently. Mercy smirked, aware that she had just played with him before she even knew his name.

"You tell me your name." Mercy replied, causing him to laugh loudly. Mercy smiled, and a small chill ran up her spine. "I can't keep calling you Stranger… or at least I think I can't."

He laughed a little more before finally calming down, and asking her if that was a serious condition. She replied that it was deadly serious, and he chuckled at her response.

"Roy." He replied, causing Mercy to smile wide. "Roy Harper."

* * *

**Horribly short and sadly, an obvious filler. Sorry guys. I've been a little under the weather this week and I'm also busy with exams and such. But I'd like to say thanks to those of you who have reviewed! It really means a lot to me! **

**And thanks to Peter the Otaku! Your story Smooth Criminal is great.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So I started writing this chapter, got about 2,000 words in, and then- I lost it. All of it was gone. **

**So, to say the least- I'm pissed. And I'm not sure how well this chapter is going to go. Hopefully it goes somewhat **_**smoothly**_**. **

**Read and Review! **

-0-

Chapter Seven

Not fifteen minutes after Roy had called, Eternal, or Mercy, was dressed and ready to leave to the restaurant Roy had chosen for them. She was walking out her bedroom door, just as Megan came floating down the hall, Conner walking slowly after her. When she caught sight of Eternal all dressed up, she smiled, and twirled around the girl.

Eternal looked up at the girl, whom was already taller than her when she wasn't floating around her, and laughed.

"What are you all dressed up for?" Megan asked, referring to the light blue chiffon dress Eternal had on underneath her leather jacket. "Oh! Are you going on a date?" She practically shouted. Eternal chuckled, and shrugged.

"I guess so." She replied as she began walking forward again toward Conner, who she nodded to him in greeting. He nodded in return, and Megan gracefully dropped to the floor to stand beside him. Megan giggled, and then began waving at Eternal.

"Let me know how it goes! Have fun!" She chirped as Eternal waved back, and then headed towards the Zeta tubes. Next to greet her, just before she entered the briefing room was Wally.

"What gives?" He asked, pointing at her dress as he walked along side her. She smirked, and then looked at him, swinging her hair as she did. Wally had to focus hard on her face in order to keep himself from tripping.

"I have a _date_." She said with a tiny hint of smugness to her voice. Wally swallowed hard, and followed Eternal as she walked towards the Zeta tubes, her heels not making a sound against the stone floor.

"A date?" Wally had to keep himself from choking it out. "W-with who?" He asked as she stopped right in front of the control panel and checked to make sure her push knife was in her inside pocket, and her phone and money were in the other inside pocket.

"This guy Roy Harper," She answered, not looking at Wally as his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. "He seems nice." She shrugged at the last part, and then walked into the Zeta tube as Robin walked into the briefing room, just in time to spot Eternal wave to Wally as she disappeared.

Robin approached Wally, who was staring at the Zeta tube with wide eyes. Robin looked at him, and then the Zeta tube, and then back to Wally.

"Where is she going?" He finally asked as he stared at the Zeta tube with Wally. Wally sighed, and his shoulders slumped.

"A _date."_ He spat before turning on his heel and walking rather slowly towards the kitchen. Megan had offered to make dinner tonight for him if he wanted, and now he was more than happy to take her up on the offer. Robin raised an eyebrow, and his eyes focused on his best friend from underneath his sunglasses.

"With who?" Robin asked as Wally pushed open the door. Wally stopped, looked at Robin, and then huffed.

"_Roy."_

-0-

Eternal arrived in an ally of Star City via Zeta tube just down the street from the five star restaurant that Roy had picked out, and quickly made her way there. Roy had offered to pick her up, but she doubted that Batman would be thrilled to find out she had had a random boy pick her up from Mount Justice to take her on a date- so she insisted on meeting him there instead.

She slipped off her ring, and then made her way out of the ally, her heels now tapping against the sidewalk.

Mercy now walked down the street with her hands in her pockets, her chiffon dress fluttering in the wind behind her, and her freshly trimmed hair bouncing due to the loose curls she had done before she left. She was excited, to say the least. When she was living in Star City to be with her Mother and steal for Luthor, she had had no time for a social life- let alone a _date_.

She eyed the street as she walked. Mercy recalled visiting this street a couple of times growing up, but never once with her Mother. It was always with Luthor. He would take her to the toy store and tell her to pick out whatever she wanted, and then to the ice cream parlor and she would always get an ice cream cone with strawberry ice cream. She suspected now that Luthor was kind to her growing up because her mother was putting her life on the line every day working for Luthor.

Before she knew it, she spotted the restaurant, and then the familiar figure of Roy Harper, leaning against a cherry red and expensive looking convertible while playing on his phone. She smiled, and then began walking towards him.

"Stranger?" She asked as she approached, her heels tapping lightly as she went. Roy looked up from his phone with a smirk, and Mercy smiled at him.

"I thought we were past that," He smiled as she laughed. "Beautiful. You look gorgeous." She accepted the arm he held out to her, and led them to the entrance of the French restaurant.

"Thank you, _Roy_." She smirked, as Roy held open the door, and she led them inside. The two disappeared behind the door, and their dinner began.

-0- **(Heheh, skipping over dinner because I'm evil.)** -0-

About two hours after dinner, Roy and Mercy had made their way to the park nearby, and in a quite cliché fashion, they were swinging on the swing set on the playground, speaking softly as if someone might overhear them, even though there was not a soul in sight.

"Mercy?" He asked, still looking at her. She didn't look at him, but she leaned her head towards him slightly.

"Hm?" She replied as she continued to look at the stars. It was a clear sky tonight.

He watched her for a moment before continuing, and when he didn't say anything, Mercy turned to look at him. He simply smiled, and Mercy laughed.

"I've had fun, Stranger." She joked as she reached over and poked Roy's arm. He gave her a strange look, and placed a hand over the spot she poked. "I really have. But you should loosen up a little bit."

Roy gave Mercy a strange look before he dared to ask why.

"And why is that?" He asked as Mercy watched him. She shrugged something Roy had noticed she did quite a bit, even when she didn't need to.

"You may be friendly towards me," She began, watching her heels twist and turn in the dirt underneath her for a moment. Mercy then looked up at Roy, and met her eyes with his. "But it kind of feels like you're a little more serious then you've let on. Like you have a mission to do or something." She wanted to laugh at the irony of her statement, but she pushed the urge away.

Roy smirked, and gave a small chuckle.

"Right…" Was a he said as he looked up at the stars. Mercy watched him, and then cleared her throat, causing him to look back at her.

"You don't have to act you're always so… so… _loose?" _She couldn't think of a better word. Roy smirked at the expression on her face as she searched for one. When one popped into her head, she held up a finger, and her eyes grew wide. "_Unperturbed_."

Roy laughed at her antics, and she gave a small giggle. And then he nodded.

"Well, I guess if I'm going to ask you on a second date…" Mercy snapped her head to look at him at this statement. "Then I'll have to act more… _perturbed_." Mercy chuckled, and smiled at him as she thought about how that was something Robin would say.

"Just be _yourself._" She pointed out as she playfully pushed him. Roy smiled and nodded in response. "And that second date?" Roy turned to look at her, and she was gazing at the stars.

"Sounds like I'll have to take you up on that offer." Mercy said sing-song, causing Roy to laugh quietly at her. As Roy looked back up at the sky, Mercy looked at her watch, and her eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"Oh good god…" She muttered before she realized it came out of her mouth. Roy whipped his head around to look at her, and she pulled out her phone.

"Uh… just a… sorry." She said quietly to Roy as she called Megan. The phone rang a few times and just as Mercy was about to hang up, Megan finally answered.

"Hey, Megan, sorry to call you so late." She said casually. Megan gave the phone a confused look, and then slapped her forehead.

"Hey! When are you getting back?" Megan yawned as he looked at the clock. It was close to 1:30.

Mercy shifted in her swing, and looked at Roy before answering. He still looked incredibly confused.

"Uh… probably soon. I didn't realize it was so late… or… early. I was just wondering if you could leave the _front door_ unlocked for me. I forgot my keys." She was actually talking about the Zeta tubes. She wasn't sure if they kept them on all night.

"Oh! You mean the Zeta tubes… right. They're still on. And if you have trouble getting through, call me again and I'll pick you up with the bioship." Megan replied quietly as if she knew Mercy was sitting right next to Roy. Mercy gave a sigh of relief.

"Thanks Meg, I'll talk to you later." Mercy said almost a little too nicely. Megan gave a quick goodbye, but not before reminding her that she wanted details about the date.

Once Mercy put her phone away, she looked at Roy, who was satisfied with Mercy's 'explanation'.

"I'm sorry, Roy, but I've got to get going. I didn't realize it was so late." Mercy apologized as she stood, and Roy stood as well.

"Let me give you a ride home," Roy said as he walked beside Mercy towards the entrance of the park. "Like you said, its late, and Star City isn't very kind after dark."

"_You have no idea how right you are." _Mercy thought darkly as she nodded at Roy.

"Alright." Mercy replied. She quickly came up with a lie so that she could get Roy to drop her nearby a Zeta transporter, and keep him as far away as possible from her old apartment. She had strict orders from Bats and Canary to keep away from there. Undesirables would be there waiting if she happened to reappear. "I moved, by the way. I live just a block away from Central at that new complex." She remembered that the new complex had just opened three weeks ago, and if the door didn't have a buzz in option, which she was positive it didn't, she would be home free.

As they walked back, she allowed her heels to tap against the concrete, and the space between them became comfortably still.

"You know, tonight I had my first date." Mercy said quietly as they walked. Roy's head snapped to look at her, and he looked shocked. "I didn't have very good social skills. Boys were my friends, not interested in me in any other way." She looked at Roy, and laughed out loudly at his expression.

"Oh- Sorry I just," Roy shook his head a little. "You just so… so _beautiful_. Why _wouldn't _someone want to take you out on a date? Or maybe ten?" Roy asked. Mercy just laughed lightly, and elbowed Roy lightly. Roy elbowed back, and Mercy laughed again.

"So…" Mercy began as they approached the cherry red car. "What's the plan for date number two?" She asked as Roy quickly opened the car door for her. She felt herself blush for the umpteenth time that night, and smiled at him as she stepped inside, and buckled herself in as he shut the door. Roy soon joined her, and buckled himself in as he made a face as if he was in thought.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" He asked as he started the car. It purred quietly, but then growled once Roy put it in gear, and pulled out onto the empty street. Mercy shrugged, and then put her hands up to the warm air coming from the air vents. Roy noticed, and at a stop sign, he began taking off his jacket.

"Oh," Mercy noticed this, and tried to stop him. "Roy you don't-" Roy held it out to her, a look on his face that said: _Just take it. I know you want it._ Which wasn't a complete lie. Mercy did want it. She was freezing.

"Just take it. If you don't want to take it with you, you can at least use it to warm yourself up a little while you're in the car." He said with a small laugh in his voice at the look on Mercy's face.

Mercy eyed the warm looking jacket, and then slowly took it out of Roy's hand, and placed it over her legs. But once the car started moving again, she moved it up to go over her hands and arms. She couldn't help but notice how heavenly it smelled, and nestled the bottom half of her face in it.

When Roy looked back over at her, he couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the girl. Her eyes were wide and now focused on him, and cheeks were turning pink from the attention. Mercy smiled under the jacket, and then sat up to point to the apartment complex she was 'supposedly' living at.

"Right there. You can just stop in front of it." She began to fold up the jacket, and Roy protested.

"Take it with you. You've still got the walk to the door." Roy said a little sarcastically. He just wanted her to take the jacket with her. Then he'd have a solid reason to see her again. Mercy smirked, and placed the jacket over her arm, then reached into the inside pocket.

She pulled out his wallet and cell phone, and placed them on the dashboard as Roy came to a stop in front of the building. He gave a weak chuckle, and then pocketed the two items.

"Anything else you might need?" she asked jokingly as she opened the door, and stuck a leg out. Roy shook his head, and eyed Mercy for a moment.

She was sure that both of them were debating the same thing, and she smirked.

Mercy then leaned forward, placed a quick kiss on Roy's cheek before sliding out of the car.

She leaned over, and waved at him.

"I'll see you for date number two?" She asked. Roy nodded dreamily, and she smiled at him.

"Goodnight, Mercy." He said with a small smile. Mercy smiled back, and she nodded at him.

"Sweet dreams, Harper." She closed the door, and walked towards the building as Roy pulled away. Luckily, the building was at the end of the street, and Roy was off the street quickly, meaning Mercy didn't even have to worry about going inside of the complex. As she turned around, and walked towards the nearest Zeta transporter, she slipped on her ring, and became Eternal once more.

"Sweet dreams."

-0-

Never again would Mercy be staying out so late again when she had training the next day. The next morning when Mercy's alarm went off, she groaned loudly, and literally _rolled _out of her bed, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

Although she did not enjoy it, she had made it a habit to wake up early at Mount Justice so that her new comrades would not barge into her room, and find a black haired Eternal sound asleep with her mouth wide open. Although, that would be the least of her worries if they didn't see the Eternal they knew in her bed, but _Mercy_.

Mercy groped the edge of her nightstand, and then reached around clumsily for her ring. Once she felt the familiar shape of the ring, she slipped it on- but not before dropping it, which caused it to land directly on her eye.

"Goddamn it!" Mercy swore as she sat straight up, her hand over her eye. "Little mother…" She continued to swear under her breath as she slipped the ring on, her hair lightening as soon as it was securely around her finger. After she rubbed her watering eye one more time, she looked around her room, still not quite used to the space she now called home. She didn't have any pictures, nor any decorations on the wall except for her target board, and her desk was neat an organized. It looked as though she hadn't even attempted to make herself at home- but she figured: _If I never did before, then why start now?_

Now as Eternal, she untangled herself from her blankets, and glanced at her clock. 8:33. She had managed to get a grand total of four hours of sleep since she couldn't get herself to calm down once she got back to Mount Justice. Megan had demanded details, and Eternal had gotten a bit too excited about it, causing her to stay awake for several hours after that.

"Mother of god…" Eternal groaned as she tossed her blanket back onto her bed, and walked into her bathroom. As always, her bare feet were silent against the stone floor, and the bathroom door closed without a sound. She showered and dressed as she always did, and then stepped out of the bathroom in her towel- since it was her room and all- to pick out her clothes for the day.

Just as Eternal began sifting through her closet for shirt she wanted to wear that day, there was a sharp knock at her door, the doorknob jiggled slightly, and then the door flew open and closed- all within the time it took her to blink.

"KID!" Eternal screeched as she clutched her towel around herself tighter. Wally was already making himself comfortable in the swivel chair he had pushed across the room upon his arrival. He didn't even look in Eternal's direction, he just leaned back with his eyes closed, and propped his feet up on her bed.

"What?" He started, his eyes still closed. "I just wanted to hear about your date with… what was his name?" Wally knew damn well who she went on a date with- but he wanted to hear her say it.

"_Roy?"_Eternal snarled as she quickly slipped on a pair of underwear while Wally's eyes were closed. At least if by some catastrophic mishap should occur, she wouldn't be _completely _naked.

"Yeah, yeah, that guy. How'd it go?" Before she could answer, Wally turned around in the chair, and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Eternal, of course.

"You know," Eternal had to suppress the snarl she so desperately wanted to release. Kid realized she already had a knife in her hand, and wondered where she could have possibly gotten that from. "When I say _'when my door is locked, don't come in,' _I mean it, Wally." She snarled the last part, but Wally could not help but listen closely to the water droplets hitting the floor in the silence following.

"Uh…" He couldn't find the words to spit out, and he stood. Eternal narrowed her eyes at him, as if daring him to come any closer. She pointed towards the door with her dagger, and closed her eyes. Wally swallowed hard when he saw the light glisten against her wet skin, and blinked several times.

"Just _get out_." She growled at him. Wally saluted her, and then disappeared from sight with a green blur.

Eternal watched the door for a moment, noting that he had locked the door as he left, and then turned back to her closet with a loud huff- and plunging the dagger into the wall next to her. Once she finally found the shirt she wanted, she threw the shirt over the dagger's blade sticking out of the wall, and moved on to locate the rest of her outfit for the day.

-0-

After Eternal dressed, braided her damp hair, and put on some makeup, she left her room with her kukris on her back and a foul look on her face. It was around nine when she finally left her room and headed towards the kitchen for breakfast, where the team had planned on meeting together before training.

But frankly, Eternal wasn't feeling so whelmed right now. Not after Wally's visit this morning.

As Eternal walked into the kitchen, Megan greeted her with a cheery "Good Morning!", and Eternal replied with a grunt as the rest of the team turned to greet her as well.

Artemis was the first to notice Eternal's foul mood, and didn't hesitate to comment on it.

"What's up your ass?" Artemis asked before she took a bite of her eggs. Eternal threw a glare at Artemis as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. What Artemis didn't see was Eternal scratching her nose with her middle finger. Eternal chugged the entire glass before pointing at Wally, and placing the glass on the counter next to Artemis.

"Ask him. He's the one who barged in on me when I was half naked." She stated as she refilled her glass, and then moved to take some of the bacon on the counter. Breakfast was Eternal's favorite meal of the day now since Megan's cooking had proven to be about ten times better than her own. "I almost threw a knife at his throat- _again." _She glared at Wally at the last word, and he looked down at his plate with a slightly pink flush on his cheeks. Robin, on the other hand, suddenly busted out with laughter, and nearly fell out of his seat he was laughing so hard. Megan gave a quiet giggle from the stove, and even Superboy stifled a quiet laugh. Artemis glared along with Eternal, and Aqualad quietly placed his face in his hand as he shook his head, as if he was tired of Wally skittering along the edge of death just to see what Eternal would do if he surprised her.

"Dude!" Robin shouted as he playfully pushed his friends shoulder. Wally shot a glare at his friend, but Robin continued to laugh. "Really? I think we've figured out by now that Etty will kill you if you sneak up on her." Wally shrugged, and then a smirk grew on his face.

Eternal narrowed her eyes at him as she took a sip from her glass, and lowered the glass to the table as one of her eyebrows rose.

"I wasn't _sneaking up on her,_" He began as Eternal continued to eat her breakfast with one eye fixed on Wally. Seven different ways she could kill him and make it look like an accident popped into her head as she chewed on her bacon, and she couldn't help but grant herself a small satisfied smirk at the thought of it. "I just wanted to know how her _date _with…." He paused just as Eternal had last night, and mimicked her expression of thought as Eternal glared at him, her glass now held tightly in her hand. "Oh, right, _Roy Harper." _Robin and Wally turned to look down the table at Eternal knowingly, and the rest of the team, excluding Megan, gave Eternal a strange look. For some reason or another, Aqualad looked shocked.

"What?" Eternal shrugged as she continued to eat, playing off the call to war Wally had just proposed to her as if she was fine with her personal endeavors on the table for all to see. "Am I not allowed to go on a _date_ now and then?" She took a quick sip of her orange juice, and then jumped at the sound of Megan clapping excitedly.

"Oh! She told me all about it! He took her too-"

"Megan." Eternal interrupted her with a slightly angered tone to her voice. Megan stopped short as she watched Eternal raise her eyebrows at her, as if she were reprimanding a child. "We talked about this-" She turned to Artemis. "And we'll talk about this. I swear, but," She pointed her fork at Wally, who rose his hands up as if he were surrendering. "_You, _You and I are sparring together today." She reminded him before standing up, walking around towards the boys end of the table, and placing her dishes in the sink. Before she walked away, she leaned over towards Wally's ear, and whispered to him.

"And I don't think I need to remind you how it went _last time_." Wally's eyes suddenly gave a small flash of fear before masking themselves over again as Eternal walked out of the kitchen with a small wave over her shoulder.

As soon as the door slid shut behind her- Robin began laughing hysterically once more, and Wally pushed his friend off of his chair, and onto the floor.

-0-

Eternal walked out into the briefing room with a knife spinning around her finger when she spotted Red Arrow typing away silently on the holographic computer. She stopped short, and gave the image on the screen a hard look.

"_Oh good Christ." _She thought to herself as she frowned at it. It was a profile of a criminal dressed in something that looked _awfully _similar to her old costume. "_Night. Didn't even get my name right. No wonder I got to keep it when I joined this circus…" _

Eternal silently walked out of the shadows and towards Red Arrow as he typed, aware that he didn't know she was there yet- since she _had _managed to sneak up on the hero multiple times before.

Once she was close enough to him, she cleared her throat- and she could tell that Red Arrow had to suppress his urge to jump in surprise as she walked up to his side. Eternal smirked to herself, silently pleased that their time apart had not made her rusty, and gave a small laugh.

"Did I scare you?" She asked with a cool tone to her voice. Their last meeting had not gone so well- but Eternal knew that a feud would not help her at all in the long run if Red ever decided to join the team- or if he was going to be around as much as he was already.

The response Red gave her was expected, and it didn't bother Eternal a bit as he narrowed his white eye slits at her, and then turned back to his work. She noted that he was recording 'Night's' absence for the past week , and then her eyes wandered to the physical aspects of her profile. Her eyes narrowed at the appalling inaccuracies, and before she could stop it, a small, almost inaudible huff escaped her lips. Red stopped typing for a moment, glanced at Eternal from the corner of his eye, and then continued typing.

After a few more moments of Eternal standing next to him, he stopped, turned towards her, and glared at the red headed girl with the kukris on her back. Eternal stared back at him with the best doe eyes she could muster.

"Can I _help you?" _He nearly snarled at her as Eternal's eyebrow rose at his tone. She frowned, and her doe eyes turned into death threats.

"No." She chirped as she turned back to look at the holographic screen. She nodded towards it, and continued. "I just couldn't help but stare at the horrendous mistakes you've made." Red glared even harder, and Eternal smirked. Before Red could speak, she began speaking again.

"You see- if his _thief, _is-" She read over the sentence she had been eyeing a moment ago, and scoffed again. "_'An elusive exclusively nocturnal thief whom steals items of tremendous and unprecedented value for personal gain,'_ then what the hell are they doing with it?" She questioned. She damn well knew the answer to that, but she wasn't about to go and out herself to the hero who had been hunting her down for nearly a month now. Red Arrow only glared, and then turned to look at the screen. She could practically hear the gears grinding in his head.

"She has to be a thief for hire-" Eternal continued as she reached for the keyboard, and without warning, switched to Night's list of items stolen. Red glared at her hand, and then looked up at the screen. He didn't want to admit it- but this girl had a point. It wasn't for personal gain- it was aiding and abetting higher profile criminals. "Because who would want a… _proton accelerator gun_, and a diamond tennis bracelet _all _at the same time just for the hell of it?" She proposed as she scrolled down the list. She couldn't help but think about how much they had missed, and resisted the urge to laugh.

Red glared at the screen for a little bit, and then sighed.

"I hate to say it…" He didn't look towards Eternal, but his glare did soften up a bit. "But that sounds about right." Eternal smirked at his words as she watched him begin to correct Night's profile. But just as Eternal was about to make a comment along the lines of '_of course I'm right_,' the Zeta tubes announced a new arrival that caused the entire team to rush into the briefing room.

"_Authorizing, 0-2, Batman." _The robotic female voice announced, causing Red Arrow and Eternal to stop and look towards the tubes. Batman walked forward towards them, and nodded as if in greeting. Red Arrow nodded back, and Eternal gave a mocking salute, which Batman narrowed his eyes at.

Sure enough, the team was already piling into the briefing room, and Batman didn't even have to bother with calling everyone to the briefing room, and turned to the two standing in front of the holographic computer.

"Excuse me." He said- Eternal assumed it was meant to sound somewhat cordial, but it sounded more like a demand than anything else. But without any protest, Eternal and Red Arrow stepped back, and walked towards the team.

Batman typed for a moment as the team watched him with anticipation, watching as he brought up maps of Metropolis, and a photo of Lex Towers. Eternal glared at the Bat's back, and then gave a quiet huff. She saw Red cast her a glance from the corner of her eye, but ignored it as she crossed her arms.

"You're being sent on a _covert_ mission to Metropolis." Batman began as he turned around, just to glare directly at Eternal- she assumed he knew she was the one who had huffed at him. "Two weeks ago, a vial of an unknown- but dangerous, substance, disappeared from Star City labs."

'_Well now I know who I stole that for…'_Eternal thought to herself as Batman spoke, recalling how she had had a particularly uncomplicated time getting away from Red Arrow than usual. She had even managed to tangle in him in one of his own nets.

"It has been confirmed that the properties of this chemical can provide a city with clean and efficient energy for up to one hundred years- but also possesses the capability of being made into a weapon of mass destruction- with the possibly of it being ten times stronger than the atom bomb, the League doesn't want to take any chances." Batman reached back, and tapped one of the holographic keys, and the pictures disappeared.

"Keep in mind, our tip came from an anonymous source- but considering Luthor's prior conflicts with the League, we're willing to keep a… _open mind."_Batman didn't seem to fond of this idea, but Eternal had to assume that this tip must have been pretty convincing to persuade the Dark Knight.

"Remember, this is a _covert_ mission. _Observe and report only._ If you see anything, or find anything- report it right away, and the League will handle the rest." Batman ordered them before glaring particularly hard at the older members of the team. Eternal recalled the stories they had told her about their weak point in covert missions and how they happened to 'accidently' blow up everything they put their godforsaken hands on.

"You are dismissed." Batman announced before striding out of the cave, and disappearing in a flash of light from the Zeta tube.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Eternal and the rest of the team went their separate ways to change into their uniforms, which left Red Arrow to wait in the briefing room with the rest of them. He was actually considering going with them, they could always use an extra set of hands- and he wanted to see the girl who had singlehandedly taken down the Boy Wonder in action.

First to come back was Kid Flash- who for some reason or another, shot Red a glare, and then sped to the bio-ship without him. Red Arrow gave him a strange look, and then continued to wait.

Next to arrive was Eternal, in the flesh- and in her brand new uniform. As she walked out of the hallway, Red saw her slip on her domino mask, adjust it as she walked past him, and then straighten out the kukri holster that rested on her lower back- which Red couldn't help but watch. Eternal felt eyes on her, and turned to look at Red just before she entered the bay area where the bio-ship was held. Red Arrow quickly tried to divert his eyes, but the smirk growing on Eternal's face told him everything- He was caught.

"Well?" Eternal asked, causing Red to look back at the girl in burgundy. His mask moved as his eyebrow rose, and she gave a small laugh. "Are you coming with us?" Her head angled towards the direction of the bioship as she spoke, and Red shrugged. Eternal looked at him straight on again, and shot a smirk at him.

"Ah. I see. I thought you just wanted to see me in action…" She began to walk away, and waved over her shoulder as she walked down the hall. She waved over her shoulder. "I guess I was wrong!" Her figure disappeared in the shadows, and Red was left to scold himself.

"_What am I doing? It's not like she's Mercy." _He thought as he looked at the holographic screen before him. After Batman had left, Night's profile had come back on the screen, waiting to be closed out of. His eyes narrowed.

"_But where did she come from?"_

Robin, Artemis, and Aqualad came out next, and then Megan and Superboy closely followed, all of which were heading to the bioship. But when Robin spotted Red still standing before the holographic computer, he stopped, and the rest of his team carried on without him.

"Hey Red!" He said as he jogged up to his friend. Red glanced at him, but his eyes quickly returned to the computer generated figure of Night. Robin followed Red's gaze, and then sighed. "You know, some thieves _do_ just quit. Or they get killed. Or fall off the face of the planet. But you can't let _one _thief become your fixation, Roy." Red Arrow gave his younger friend a look that said he wasn't ready to let Night off so easily- but then thought about Eternal.

"You think Kaldur would mind if I tagged along?" Red Arrow asked as Robin began to walk away. Robin turned to look at him, and smirked.

"Of course not. We could use the extra hands."

-0-

Artemis took her seat next to Eternal in the bioship, and watched for a moment as her newfound friend gave her knives a last minute sharpening before she looked up, and noticed Artemis watching her. Eternal glanced around, looked behind her, and then back at Artemis- whom was still watching her- and then cleared her throat. Artemis's eyes moved up from her knives, to her face.

"Can I help you with something?" Eternal asked Artemis as Wally spun in his seat in front of them. Artemis shrugged.

"We don't _have to _talk about your _date." _Artemis whispered. Eternal knew by now that this actually translated to: "_Tell me everything, right now." _

Eternal smirked- and then hardened suddenly, causing Artemis to follow her friend's gaze, and then frown at the sight of an extra hero on the bioship.

"Will you be joining us today?" Aqualad asked as Megan created a new seat for Red Arrow next to Wally. Wally quickly turned towards the window, and huffed loudly, causing Artemis and Eternal to give him a bizarre look, and then look towards each other before shrugging in response. Eternal leaned forward as Red Arrow sat down, and prodded Wally's shoulder, causing him to turn his pout towards Eternal. She smiled at him and a bit of hair fell in her face.

"What's up your butt, Kid?" She asked quietly, still aiming to get a laugh out of Wally. Kid simply gave a weak chuckle, and then turned back towards the window as Megan began to guide the bioship out of the bay. Eternal frowned at him, and glanced at Artemis, who shrugged her shoulder's and stuck out her bottom lip as if she were saying: "I don't have a clue."

Eternal prodded Wally again, and this time Red Arrow couldn't help but watch from the corner of his eye.

"Wall-man?" She questioned as she poked his arm. Her finger came in contact with the hard muscle that made up Wally's arm, and he turned his head towards her, but didn't lift it from his folded arms. He saw Eternal's face, and realized that she was actually concerned.

"Is it about this morning?" She asked as he watched her lips move. "Because I wasn't _really _going to put a knife in your throat, Wally." She paused, and Wally noticed her mask shift with her eyebrows. "But… I wouldn't advise sneaking up on me when I have a knife… which is… all the time…." Wally gave a weak chuckle as Happy Harbor grew smaller and smaller underneath them, and Eternal began poking some kind of rhythm on his arm. He didn't mind. It's not like she was hurting him, and he had noticed her do this before when she was thinking, but she usually tapped against her own arm, or a table.

"No, Etty," Red Arrow's own eyebrows rose at this nickname. "Just not feeling the aster right about now." Robin smirked at Wally's use of one of his favorite words from the front of the ship, but felt for his best friend. He knew that Wally was a little… 'attached' to Eternal, and that the date she had gone on last night had hit him with a new one. Plus, the talk of how she had a good time didn't help much either.

Eternal gave a light laugh, and Wally gave a small grin.

"Well I hope you do soon." She said as she stopped tapping on his shoulder, and leaned back in her seat- but not before giving Wally's a playful kick. Wally looked up, smirked at her, and then with a blur of yellow, created a gust of wind that blew Eternal's long hair into her face, causing her to spit and struggle with it before throwing her head back, and glaring at Wally.

"We're not friends anymore." Eternal huffed as Artemis stifled a laugh, and Wally smirked. She quickly made her hair up into a side French braid, and glared at Wally through her mask.

"You don't mean that." Wally retorted as he spun around in his chair. He noticed Red's eyes on the two of them talking, and ignored him, but not before locking eyes with him for a moment before he spun out of his sight.

"_I just might_." Eternal spat as the sun began to lower in the sky, and Megan landed the bioship a few blocks away from Lex Towers. Wally and Artemis noticed Eternal's sudden change of demeanor as she narrowed her white eye slits at the building, and her entire body tensed.

"You okay?" Wally asked, causing Eternal to glance at him, and then look back towards the building as it passed by.

"I'm fine." She said as Megan landed the bioship. The seatbelts slithered back into the chairs, and Eternal stood before Artemis and Wally, but at the same time at Red Arrow and Robin. She checked the placement of her mask, and then moved to the center with Robin and Red Arrow; Artemis was soon to follow- the four of them would be deploying first- just as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. "It's just time to get to work."

The three of them left, and spread out into the darkness, leaving their teammates to follow close behind.

-0-

"_Wally, if I hear you think about any sort of edible substance in the next three hours- I will kill you." _Eternal snapped at Wally via thought. Wally glared at no one in particular as he pulled out a candy bar, and took a quick bite out of it before putting it away again.

"_Wah, wah, wah, I'm Eternal. I can kill you with a single blade. Wah, wah-" _Artemis slapped him on the side of the head, causing him to stop his thought short, and leave Eternal in silence again as she and Robin placed the security cameras on loop. Red Arrow was guarding the door, and as soon as the two were done, Eternal walked up to him silently, nodded her head at him, and then led the three of them out the door.

Red Arrow quietly followed, and Robin was close behind him, just as it had been back at the museum- minus Eternal, _of course._

It was when Eternal heard a noise, and raised her hand, ordering the boys behind her to stop as she listened carefully.

They were approximately ten feet away from the labs they had been assigned by Aqualad to search, while the rest of the team had their own respective areas and labs to guard or search- and it sounded like someone was working late in the lab Eternal, Red Arrow, and Robin had been assigned to.

"_Sounds like someone's working late." _Eternal thought. She could feel the boys react to her thought behind her as she inched forward, her footsteps silent against the carpeted floor. She stopped, and then listened carefully once more. More footsteps. It was more than one pair. She narrowed her eyes, and looked towards Red Arrow and Robin, who already had weapons drawn, prepared to fight if necessary.

"_Robin, disappear." _Robin nodded with a smirk, and gave Eternal a mocking salute.

"_My specialty." _He disappeared with a quiet laugh.

"_Three sets of feet," _Eternal began reporting to the rest of the team, and she could feel their attention shift to her voice in their head momentarily. "_Northwest lab. Anyone else running into _diligent _employees?" _ She waited a moment for a response, and just as she suspected, she received a negative answer.

"_Quiet here,"_ Wally reported as he circled the building on last time before returning to Artemis's side as she watched over the teams through the windows of Lex Tower from the roof of the building next door. She would be serving as their outside aid, Wally was there in case the team needed the two quickly.

"_Negative. No movement here." _Superboy reported. Eternal was surprised that Superboy had answered, and not Miss Martian or Aqualad.

Eternal quickly moved to the other side of the doorway, and spotted the three figures in the lab, all huddled around a computer. She quietly withdrew her kukris, and looked towards Red Arrow, who had an arrow notched, and prepared to fire at any moment. Red Arrow peeked inside, and quickly withdrew his head from view. The three suspects were certainly not dressed like LexCorp employees, and it was obvious by the varying amounts of dirt and tears in their clothes.

"_Well they certainly don't look like diligent employees." _Red Arrow thought as he prepared himself to move quickly.

"_Robin." _Eternal thought as she looked for Robin's figure in the room without being seen. She was lucky to even see the boy's shadow as he quietly rolled out of the air vent after a smoke pellet. Eternal couldn't help but smirk at the sound of the suspects grunting and huffing before finally falling to the ground from the blows coming from a thirteen year old boy. Robin swiftly moved towards the door, opened it with a quick hack, and Eternal and Red Arrow walked inside. Red quickly confirmed that the room was clear, and Eternal walked up beside Robin as he hacked the computers to check the inventory of the lab.

When the search came up negative, Eternal crossed her arms, and placed all her weight on her right leg.

"You know…" She said quietly as Robin continued to type, and Red Arrow walked up behind them, his bow still in hand, but the arrow now placed back in its quiver. "If Lex is behind this, there's no way that he would stash it in his labs." Obviously this thought came from past experience with Lex, but she wasn't going to divulge that to her fellow heroes. She felt Red Arrow's eyes narrow at the back of her head, but ignored him, and looked down at Robin, who was still sitting at the computer, but now looking upwards past it as if he were considering this thought carefully.

"It would be in his nature." Robin said as he shrugged his shoulders, and then typed a few characters on his holographic computer. Soon enough, four green and smiling Robins appeared, and Robin was in to the LexCorp mainframe. Eternal could see that he was looking up a map, and she resisted the urge to stop him. She may know exactly how to get there- but saying that she could when this was supposedly her first time here would be suspicious.

Red Arrow continued to stare at the girl with narrow eyes, and she could feel every second of it burning into the back of her skull, which caused the irritation mounting in her chest to rise and rise with every second of it.

"Red," She snapped as leaned over, and carefully scanned the map with Robin; both of the sleuths were memorizing a route up towards the top floor. Red Arrow's eyes obviously didn't move, but he did give a quiet grunt in response. She shifted slightly, her demeanor threatening.

"If you keep _glaring _at me, _I'll gouge your eyes out- _nerve my nerve." She promised as she spun on her heel, and faced him momentarily before walking towards the door. Robin followed shortly after shutting off his holographic computer, and disconnecting himself from the system. Red Arrow huffed before following the two, and notched back an arrow before entering the hallway.

"_Change of plans. Luthor wouldn't keep a stolen substance out in the open. Eternal, Red, and I are moving up towards Luthor's office. Top floor. Meet us there." _Robin thought as he hacked the elevator doors open, and shot up his grappling hook. Eternal looked up with a skewed expression as Robin began his assent, leaving Eternal to stand there, staring up at her partner, as Red Arrow shot up a grappling arrow.

Before he began to rise-he noticed Eternal pull a few throwing knives out of her utility belt, and aim carefully. He could tell she was planning on scaling up the wall, using the knives as handholds, and frowned.

"That'll take too long." He said as he reached out for her. Eternal looked towards him, then his hand, and frowned. Without looking away, she threw the three knives, and then landed in strategic places in the elevator shaft. Eternal smirked, and then jumped towards the first one, and catching herself on the secure knife before leaping up to the second one.

"We'll see about that." She chirped as she raced ahead, throwing more knives as she went. Red Arrow grumbled under his breath, and began his climb upwards. To his distaste, Eternal did beat him, and to add salt to the wound, she had pulled herself up over the edge of the elevator's opening with one hand, and flipped inside- then helped Red Arrow inside with a swift pull.

"_Took you guys long enough." _Kid Flash thought as he stood next to Robin, who was hacking Luthor's computer. Eternal frowned at the Boy Wonder, wishing she could help him by providing him with the passwords that Luthor had so foolishly trusted her with, but that would be difficult to explain in a way that wouldn't incriminate her.

"_Shut it, Kid." _Artemis barked in her mind as she searched the office. Eternal wanted to slap her palm to her forehead when she saw Artemis digging through the bookshelf, and then rummaging through the drawers. So much for not leaving a trace- the girl was making a mess.

Eternal swiftly ran her hand across her belt, placing her throwing knives back in their place as she walked past Red Arrow, who was gazing around the large office. Red Arrow's gaze followed Eternal, and he then walked after her, placing his bow over his shoulders so that his hands would be free while he searched. Eternal felt his presence, but ignored it. She knew exactly where to look- she just had to make it look like she didn't.

But as she pretended to search, her internal alarms continued to blare- too many people were in the room at once. No one had done their homework, no one was being careful enough, and most of all _it was insufferable. _Even though this was her first 'mission' with the team- she could already tell that she was hardly cut out to be on a team.

She finally got close enough to where she could 'discover' Luthor's hidden safe, and she gingerly pulled out one of the books, and fanned it open. She remembered the day Luthor asked her to pick out her favorite book in his office, and then very next day, he had showed her why.

Luthor had had the book made into a remote control door opener. And inside of this 'book' was a keypad- and Eternal knew that from past experience that the keypad was absolutely unhackable, so she didn't call Robin over right away.

Just as she reached forward to type in the code- she felt someone's gaze on her, and looked up to see Red Arrow standing over her. Her white eye slits were wide as she looked up, and she smirked as she waved the book at him.

"_Found the decoder to his safe. Luthor was always predicable." _She thought as the rest of the team stopped what they were doing – except for Robin, who only turned away from his work for a second to look towards Eternal, who was now staring at the keypad, looking for indications of wear and tear on the keys.

"_Let me see it."_Kid Flash said as he appeared by her side, kneeling just like she was. "_I can type in every variation of the code in less than three seconds." _Eternal eyed the device in her hand, and bit her lip slightly. Kid shot her a confused expression as he continued to hold out his hand.

"_Hey Rob, you think this thing has a password limit?" _Eternal asked as she continued to eye the device. Funny how she was the only one who thought of that.

"_More than likely." _Robin replied. "_His computer did. Why not his safe?" _Eternal felt Red Arrow shift from behind her, and she glanced at him before replying to Robin.

"_How many tries to I have?" _She asked Robin. Robin was silent for a moment, and then bit his own lip.

"_Just one. Make it count. I can tell from here that I can't hack that thing. Nothing to plug my system into." _Eternal had to suppress a smirk as Robin spoke, and kept her poker face intact as she painstakingly began enter the code, spotting the keys that looked dirtier than the rest of the keys; and took at least two or three seconds to pretend to deliberate on the next number.

When she slowly hit the last number, and feigned an expression of fear on her face, the bookcase flew open, and Eternal released a fake sigh. Kid Flash sighed from beside her, and Red Arrow gave her a suspicious look. But before anyone could say a word, another voice spoke for them.

"_Eternal, _didn't think I would be seeing you so soon." Eternal's white eye slits narrowed, and she pulled Kid Back by the back of his uniform as she dodged a poisoned dart that had just shot out of the darkness of the hallway behind the bookcase.

Kid stumbled backwards and fell on his backside, while Eternal held her ground, and four throwing knives appeared between her fingers. Red Arrow and Artemis armed themselves and backed away as well. Robin pulled out several discs, but kept his system plugged into the computer.

"_Contact, they're blocking the point of entry." _Red Arrow announced to the team members not present. Eternal joined in as she continued to stare at the darkness, he knives poised above her head. Another dart flew out, and Eternal deflected it with the kukri in her other hand.

"_We'll be there momentarily." _Aqualad announced. Eternal widened her eyes, then tensed.

"_No! Wait for the right time." _Eternal shouted in her mind, causing Aqualad, Miss Martian, and Superboy to skid to a stop just behind the door. Eternal threw a knife into the darkness, and the team heard the suspect grunt.

"You know, _Cheshire, _I'm kind of tired of waiting on you." Artemis's eyes widened slightly at Eternal's bold statement, and pulled her arrow further back.

"Oh, hush, hush, Eternal." Cheshire's figure finally began to emerge out of the darkness, and Eternal gave a huff.

"Just shut your mouth and put your weapons down." Eternal snarled. Eternal's harsh tone brushed Cheshire the wrong way, and she snapped open her Sais from underneath her sleeves. Everyone in the room tensed, and Eternal took a step forward. Cheshire reacted by raising her Sais, and everyone in the room that was armed or could be heard raising their weapons or preparing themselves to move.

Eternal was the only one who looked relatively _relaxed. _It was then that she noticed the bleeding cut on Cheshire's shoulder, and gave a smug smirk. Cheshire scowled at her.

"Well?" Eternal beckoned Cheshire forward, and moved into a fighting stance as she replaced her throwing knives with her other kukri. "You just going to stand there or are you going to come over her so I can hand you your ass?" She smiled as she spoke, and Cheshire had had enough- and charged with a growl. Eternal swiftly moved out of the way, and Cheshire rolled back onto her feet a few feet from where Eternal had been standing, and Eternal beckoned towards her again.

"Try again, kitty cat." She taunted. She wasn't used to using witty banter during her fights- but she was confident enough to know she was good at it when she felt it was necessary. Cheshire roared, but before she could reach Eternal, Kid punched her with a fist that moved so fast Eternal didn't even see it, and Eternal quickly rolled towards Cheshire to that when Cheshire landed, she would hand right in Eternal's grasp.

Once Cheshire landed, Eternal flipped Cheshire her back and allowed gravity to take over as she groaned at the weight she was now carrying, and landed right on top of Cheshire, whose bones cracked loudly upon impact with the floor, and laid there while Eternal did a backwards flip off of the floor, and stood over her. Cheshire quickly composed herself, and Eternal smirked.

"_Go, look for the vials. I've got Cheshire." _Eternal barked in her thoughts. Robin began running down the stairs, but Artemis, Red Arrow, and Kid Flash didn't move from their positions.

"_I'm not leaving you're here with _Cheshire!"Kid replied with a slightly bewildered tone to his voice. Eternal threw him a glare as she countered Cheshire once more, and pushed her back with a swift kick in the chest. She was making the skilled assassin look like a fool, and she was having fun while doing it.

"_Believe me, this isn't the first time I've handled Cheshire. We go _way _back. Go help Robin!" _Kid gave Eternal one last stubborn look, and then disappeared to go help Robin. Artemis reluctantly ran after him, but Red Arrow remained at the opening of the stairs.

"_That includes you, Red!" _Eternal barked at him, causing him to scowl as he aimed for Cheshire. He fired, and Cheshire sliced his arrow in half with little effort- the next one she dodged, and Eternal was forced to slice it in half.

"_Well thanks."_ Eternal snarled as she continued to fight Cheshire, now blocking her extendable Sais with her two kukris. Red Arrow scowled and was suddenly tackled by none other than Black Spider. "_Miss Martian?" _Eternal felt Miss Martian's anxiety rising, seeing that she was sitting outside the door Eternal was standing against as she fought Cheshire. Cheshire tried to stab at Eternal, but she dodged it, and it went straight through the door.

"_Etty? Are you okay_?" She said anxiously in reply. Eternal grunted as she locked her kukris with the nun chucks Cheshire had just pulled out, and brought the assassin close.

"_Please, open the door and step back_." She requested calmly as Cheshire tried to pull herself away from Eternal. The door Eternal was up against flew open, and without a moment's hesitation, she dove backwards, and flipped Cheshire over onto the floor with a yell, slamming the assassin down so hard that dust that was hidden deep in the carpet rose upwards around her. Cheshire groaned, but before she could jump up to continue fighting, Eternal gave her a swift kick in the head, and she was out cold.

Aqualad approached her, but before he could begin to speak, a shot of red web hit him in the face, and pushed him backwards, causing Eternal to pounce back into action, Superboy now following suit while Miss Martian helped Aqualad pull the web off of his face.

"Maneuver three!" Eternal shouted at Superboy as she leapt into the air. They had practiced this maneuver a few days ago, and Eternal was confident that this was the perfect time to try it. Superboy laced his hands together, and her feet landed on his palms with such grace he was still amazed- but then he almost violently pushed her so hard that she was a blur when she went flying through the air towards Black Spider, who had no time to react when Eternal flipped through the air with such speed- he didn't even realize her feet had collided with his face when they did. Black Spider was out cold, and without even stopping to observe her work, she ran down the stairs, and found Red Arrow sprawled out at the bottom of them, out cold from Black Spider's sneak attack.

"Shit." She said quietly as she crouched down, and patted his face. "Wakey wakey Red, we gotta get moving." She cooed almost sarcastically as Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian came running and flying down the stairs. Eternal looked up at them, and she jerked her head towards the bottom of the stairs where she could see Kid whooshing back and forth as he looked for the vial.

"Help them, I'll get him out of here." She said as she lifted Red up without a sound of complaint, and carried him with one of his arms over her shoulders, her left hand holding his limp wrist, and her other arm holding most of his dead weight. Aqualad gave her a concerned look, and Superboy stepped forward as Miss Martian flew down the stairs.

"I can take him, I would go a lot faster." He said as he held out his hand. Eternal shook her head.

"I've carried heavier. I'm stronger than my little arms make me look." She joked dryly as she moved between them so swiftly it was as if she wasn't even carrying Red Arrow. When Superboy saw this, he looked at Aqualad, and he nodded; both of the boys turned their backs on Eternal as she quickly moved her way up the stairs, and went to help their fellow teammates find the vial.

But when Eternal got to the top of the stairs, Cheshire was standing there, her mask now cracked down the middle, and anger was rolling off of her in waves. Eternal huffed, and a strand of hair that had come loose from her braid flew back up to the top of her head.

"I'm kind of busy right now, Kitty Cat." She snarled as she adjusted Red so that she could fight and hold him up at the same time. She could tell Cheshire was smirking under her mask.

So she thought that Red would inhibit her fighting abilities? Oh how wrong she was.

Just as Cheshire moved to punch Eternal with a pair of brass knuckles, Eternal brought up her leg, blocked her punch by hitting the side of her fist, and then with lightening speed brought her leg up around Cheshire's shoulder, and around her head, causing the assassin to fall to the ground, her face now stuck between Eternal's calf and thigh at the spot right behind her knee. Eternal quickly but gently leaned Red up against the wall next to the stair case as she was forced to lower herself to the ground, and secured Cheshire's hands just before she reached for a poisonous dart. Eternal quickly hit a pressure point at back of Cheshire's head, and she fell limp underneath Eternal, who didn't wait to see if she would get back up again, and retrieved Red Arrow quickly.

"Come on, Red." She moved towards the window, and kicked it open. She set him down once more, grabbed his bow and pulled a grappling arrow out of his quiver. She shot it off at the building the bioship was on top of, and it stuck. She quickly placed his bow back on his back, and threw her kukri holster over the line as she wrapped her legs around Red Arrow. Just as she leaned over to pick Red up by the collar, Black Spider groaned loudly, and then spotted Eternal lifting up Red Arrow.

He shot off a red web- and with lightening reflexes, she snatched the web just before it caught her, and she flicked her wrist like she was cracking a whip, and then pulled the web violently as it wrapped around Black Spider's eyes and mouth, causing it to stick to him. As Black Spider struggled with his own web, she lifted up Red Arrow, and moved carefully towards the edge with him, his top half now dangling over the street fifty stories below them. Eternal pulled him up with a grunt, and as she jumped upwards, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and then glided off on the grappling line.

Unfortunately, Red awoke at the sudden jerk, and nearly shit his pants when he saw that he was gliding fifty stories up above the ground, and moved suddenly, causing Eternal's hand to slip slightly on her holster. She grunted, and Red Arrow looked up at her the best he could. She was now hanging on with –two hands, but she had a strained look on her face.

"Stop moving!" She barked though gritted teeth as they neared the bioship. Red still looked bewildered at the sight of the girl doing something so dangerous… and so… _stupid._

"Get ready to jump!" She shouted over the roaring wind. Red looked down, but before he could say anything back to Eternal, she released him, and he quickly fell to the ground, and rolled to slow his momentum. Right after he rolled to a stop, Eternal released her hold on the harness, and came tumbling down towards the roof of the building. Red watched as she rolled as well, and stopped. But instead of kneeling like Red Arrow was, she lay on her back, and released a loud huff before leaping to her feet. She pointed at Red Arrow, and his eyebrows rose. Eternal paused before she spoke.

"You're welcome." She said with a sigh before jogging towards the edge of the roof. Red Arrow gave her a strange look, and then cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy.

-0-

**So, what do you think? Too intense? Not intense enough? More fight scenes or less fight scenes? **

**And I apologize for the wait, I've been a teeny tiny bit busy with school. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

**So I just checked the stats on this story, and HOLEY MOTHER OF BATMAN. **

**2,282 hits and 871 visitors to this story. The stakes have just been raised for you guys. **

**-0-**

"Congratulations." Wally's hand clapped Eternal's back as she nursed her bruised hip with an icepack on the couch back in the Cave. Eternal shot him a glare as he lifted her legs, sprawled out on the seat next to her, and placed her legs on his lap. "You aided in the capture of a wanted member of the League of Shadows." Eternal narrowed her eyes at him slightly, and then adjusted the ice pack on her hip. When she had landed on the roof with Red Arrow, she had managed to give herself a dark purple bruise the size of a melon that ached when she walked.

"Correction," Robin chirped from his seat in the kitchen. He was the only one who had changed back into his civvies. Eternal and Wally looked at him from their seat on the couch, both of them with a slightly confused expression on their faces. "She _did _capture the wanted member of the League of Shadows, and then successfully moved a fallen teammate over a fifty story drop by carrying them with her legs- and _all _without injury to herself or others." Robin crossed his arms, and gave Eternal a look that made her give a small chuckle, and look back at her hip.

"Without any _major_ injury… although my hip hurts like hell…" She muttered as Wally followed her gaze, and then sent her a smile when she looked up at him. She reached over, and pushed his face with a finger playfully, and he laughed- which caused the archer dressed in green to shoot the two a look from the kitchen where she was sipping on a glass of water.

Red Arrow walked into the room next with an icepack against his forehead, and walked towards the kitchen where he took a seat next to Robin and across from Artemis, who narrowed her eyes at his arrival.

"How're feeling there, Red?" Eternal suddenly chirped from the couch as Wally flipped through the channels. She hadn't even looked towards the kitchen, or seen him come in, but the air of arrogance rolled off of him in waves- and she had certainly felt that.

At the call of his name, Red made a face of displeasure, and then turned his head slightly towards Eternal, who now her eyes had squinted at the reality show Wally had decided on as if she didn't approve.

"_Fine._" He snapped back at her, causing her to turn her head towards him slightly. Wally glared at the television, but did not turn to acknowledge Red Arrow like Eternal had.

"Just fine? Black Spider really did a number on you- I was just checking." She didn't bother to even pretend to sound like she was actually concerned. Red Arrow then stood from his seat, and left.

"Where you headed?" Robin chirped from his seat. Red Arrow paused before exiting the room. Other than the sound of the television, the people in the room were silent.

"I have things to do." Was Red Arrow's response as he moved to make his way out of the room, and the doors slid open with a quiet _whoosh_. Eternal gave a small chuckle, and then looked directly at him.

"Have fun, Red, best wishes to you and that concussion of yours." She chirped just before he walked out the doors, and they slid closed behind him.

After a few moments of silence, Robin sighed, and stood from his seat as well.

"I should be getting back to Gotham. I'll see you guys tomorrow." He chirped as he waved at them. A chorus of goodbyes was heard around the room as he walked through the doors, and they closed with a soft _swish._

"Hey Arty!" Eternal chirped as she turned to look at her friend, who had been glaring at the wall across from her. Artemis looked towards Eternal with slightly uninterested eyes, and then forced herself to give her a small grin. "You want the details on my date?" Wally shifted uncomfortable underneath Eternal's legs, but didn't look towards her.

Artemis looked toward the clock, and realized she needed to get home to her mother before morning.

"Sorry, Etty, but I've got to get home." She said as kindly as she could before she stood from her seat. Eternal shrugged at her, and smirked.

"It's alright, I'll just tell you later. See you tomorrow!" Eternal waved as Artemis rushed out of the room, and frowned as soon as the doors shut behind her.

Eternal turned back towards the television, and just as Wally opened his mouth to speak, Eternal's cell phone began to ring loudly from the table. He shut his mouth with a quiet huff as she reached over to pick it up, and gave a small smirk at the name on the caller ID.

She looked at Wally, and he looked at her with a confused expression. Eternal answered, put the phone to her ear.

"_I'm assuming you thought this was someone else?" _Eternal frowned, and her expression hardened as she pulled her legs off of Wally's lap, and sat straight up. Wally turned off the television and watched Eternal carefully as she stood.

"No, no, of course not." Translation: _What do you want?_

"_Just a moment of your time, _Mercy." Luthor replied as he righted the fallen vase on his desk. Eternal slapped a smile on her face, and looked towards Wally, motioning that she was going to take her call into another room. Wally gave her a confused look, and then watched her as she walked away with a concerned look on his face.

Eternal quietly closed the door of her room behind her, locked it, and then took the small table sitting next to the door, and shoved it underneath the doorknob- insuring that Wally would not barge in on her.

"What do you want?" She snarled as she walked away from her door and moved towards her mirror. Luthor chuckled on the other end.

"_I can't call and check up on my old guard every now and then? _ _I was worried about you, Mercy. You fell off of the face of the earth- until tonight that is." _Lex replied as she took off her kukris, and then pulled the hair band out of her hair, causing it to tumble down in waves. She had taken off her mask hours ago when they had returned to the Cave.

"Yes. I was offered something _better_, Lex. So sorry if that disappoints you." She snarled as she threw down her hair band on the desk, and then her kukris.

"_Well, of course it does, dear. Plus the fact that your new team doesn't seem to know who you _really _are disappoints me as well." _Eternal slipped off her gloves, and then her ring and her eyes narrowed as she slowly became Mercy once again. "_I thought I taught you better than that." _Mercy couldn't help but feel the fire inside her ignite at this statement, and she slammed her gloves and ring down on the desk so hard that it shook violently.

"Taught me?" She growled before pausing to make sure she couldn't see a shadow underneath the door. "Your precious _genomorphs _taught me, _Luthor_." Luthor laughed on the other end of the line.

"_Whatever you say my dear, whatever you say. But keep in mind; I do have eyes on you." _ Mercy glared at her own reflection, and squeezed her phone tightly in her hand. "_I saw you on your little date with Roy Harper. Playboy billionaire and heir to Queen Enterprises? Bravo, my dear, bravo." _Mercy felt her blood run cold when he mentioned Roy's name, and her expression of anger turned to fear. "_But does he _know_ how _dangerous _you really are? How you could kill him with your bare hands, and not leave a single trace? Does he know that you're a thief and a liar?" _Mercy looked down at her feet, and she swallowed hard.

After a few moments of silence, and listening to Mercy's breathing on the other end of the line, Lex Luthor laughed, and continued.

"_I didn't think so." _Mercy closed her eyes, and listened carefully to Lex. "_You're lucky. I've given Cheshire and Black Spider specific orders not to give away your identity- or any information about you. But I want something in return." _Mercy's eyes flew open, and she scowled once more.

If Luthor was going to try and blackmail her, he was going to have to think twice.

"Before you continue, _Luthor_," She snapped, causing Lex to raise an eyebrow at her tone on the other end. "Let me remind you that I know how to kill the _entire Justice League _without leaving a trace. Killing a small time assassin and her idiot friend would be no problem for me. And _no one _would ever know." Mercy knew that Luthor knew that was true- and he scowled.

"If Cheshire says a word, if Spider says a word, if _you _say a word-you will die. _Slowly_ and _painfully_. Understood?" Mercy's tone was icy and every word cut like a knife as Luthor scowled at the speaker phone in front of him. Mercy was answered with the sound of silence.

"_Don't be so sure of yourself, _Mercy_." _Luthor threatened before ending the call abruptly, leaving Mercy to scowl at herself in the mirror, and then throw her phone violently across the room, causing it to explode into several pieces.

"You're not going to ruin me again, Luthor." She snarled as she stared at herself in the mirror. And then suddenly gave a primal yell and punched the mirror, and watched it at the shards fell to the ground.

"Not. _Again_."

-0-

"_Authorizing: Robin, B-0-1." _

As Robin made his way out of the bright Zeta beams, he spotted Eternal, furiously throwing her knives at holographic targets, and yelling furiously as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead as she executed various types of back handsprings and rolls to evade the holographic projectiles flying back at her.

Robin's eyebrow rose as he watched Eternal, the girl who had beat him to the pulp the very first day he met her, lose her cool, and begin to lose her focus as she threw her knives.

"_Authorizing: Kid Flash, B-0-3." _

Kid Flash zoomed out of the Zeta tubes, and skidded to halt next to Robin, whose mouth had fallen agape at the sight of Eternal.

"Hey Rob, what-" He was interrupted by the primal sound that escaped Eternal's mouth as she plunged her kukri into a holographic assailant, and the program ended, revealing her arsenal of knives in the stone walls, and the scratches her kukris left on the ground as she flipped- which she never usually did.

Eternal turned around, and finally noticed the two heroes that had entered- which was unusual for her to miss, especially since their arrivals were announced. She sent each of them a curt nod, and then turned to retrieve her knives from the walls. Kid and Robin couldn't help but look at each other, and then look back at Eternal, who was violently tearing out her knives and returning them to their place.

"Uh…" Wally began to speak as Eternal paused to listen to him, practically slamming her knives back in their hidden sheathes. Both of the boys became uneasy. "You… feelin' okay Etty?" He asked as he watched her only turn her head towards him slightly, a handful of knives still in her left hand. She turned her head back towards the wall covered in knives, and reached forward to pull another two out, once she had her hand wrapped around two of them, she spoke to him.

"I'm _peachy_, Wally." Her voice held a tense edge to it as she pulled out the two knives with a sharp tug. "Just. Peachy." Eternal continued to pull out her knives as she moved along the wall, and also plucked them off of the floor. Wally once more looked at Robin, who was still watching Eternal, but now with an eyebrow raised, and then with a small gust of wind, appeared by her side, and began to help her pull the knives out of the wall- but when he tugged on one, it wouldn't budge.

Eternal turned her head, and noticed this, then reached over, and pulled it out herself with little effort. Wally felt his face warm, and then leaned over to pick up the ones that still lay on the floor. Robin gave the two one last glance, and then continued towards the kitchen to join the others for breakfast.

"So… you don't want to-"Eternal cut him off.

"No. I don't, Wally." She snapped. Eternal didn't intend to, and as soon as the words came out of her mouth the stopped, closed her eyes, and sighed. Her battle wasn't with Wally, it was with Luthor. She rose up her hand; one knife tucked under her thumb, and looked at Wally. She saw him staring at her with wide eyes. "Just… not yet." She finished with a gentle tone. Wally's expression turned solemn, and he gave a small nod before leaning over, and picking up a few more knives.

Suddenly, Wally gave a small chuckle, and Eternal's gaze snapped in his direction.

"What?" She asked, her hand resting on a knife in the wall. Wally looked up at her, and she noted he had been gazing at the arsenal of knives on the wall.

"_Where _do you put all of these?" He asked as he held up the handful of knives he was holding. Eternal's eyebrows rose, and she looked along the wall before answering. Was it unusual for someone to hold so many weapons on their person?

"Uh… my utility belt?" She sounded as if that was something Wally should have known. Wally scoffed, and then continued to pick up the last of the knives from the floor just as Eternal pulled out the last knife from the wall.

Wally waited patiently as he watched Eternal place the knives back in their places- her utility belt, a few sheathes hidden under some armor, and a two sheathes on her thighs and the long dagger in her right boot.

"At this rate, you rival Batman in the preparedness department." Wally joked as Eternal reached up and wiped some leftover sweat off of her forehead. She gave a small laugh, and began walking towards her room.

"I've got to shower and stuff before I eat. I'll see you in a bit." Eternal said as she waved over her shoulder, and left the room, leaving Wally to watch, and then make his way into the kitchen.

When Eternal entered her room and closed the door, she eyed her phone on her desk, freshly repaired and fully functional once again, and noticed that the small red light at the top corner was blinking. She narrowed her eyes at it, and then walked away from the desk it sat on.

Eternal quickly took a shower, applied her usual makeup, and left her hair down to dry on its own as she usually did before exiting the bathroom and moving towards her closet to pick out her clothes for the day. Just as she opened her closet, she noticed her phone blinking again, and narrowed her eyes at it before giving a curt huff, and then continued to pick out her clothes for the day.

She settled on a deep wine red shirt, close to the deep burgundy color her uniform was, a pair of black skinny jeans, and her worn black, knee high boots. Once dressed, she left her closet, braided her damp hair, and threw her kukris over her back, and adjusted them as needed so that they would rest comfortably on her lower back.

Once again, she spotted her phone blinking from the corner of her eye, and she gave a frustrated sigh. Eternal looked towards the retched device, and glared at it as if it would cower under her gaze- but unfortunately, it continued to blink persistently, and she glared even harder.

After another moment of glaring, she gave a defeated sigh, and walked towards the phone, and plucked it off of the desk. She swiped it open, and her heart gave a strange stutter when she realized who had called.

_Two missed calls: Roy Harper. One voicemail: Roy Harper. _

Without even realizing it, she pressed the 'call back' option, and slowly put the phone to her ear as it began to ring. Not even three rings later, Roy answered, and he sounded relieved.

"_Hello?" _He said as he hurriedly put the phone to his ear. He had fallen asleep on his couch waiting to see if Mercy would call him back.

Eternal gave a small chuckle on the other end of the phone, and then answered.

"You rang?" The smirk was evident in her voice, and Roy smirked back at her as he looked down at himself. _Still in uniform I see, good job, Red._

"_Yes, I did. I was starting to think you didn't want to talk to me_." He joked as he stood from his couch, and moved towards the locked room at the other end of the living room. He tapped the bare wall next to the door, and a panel emerged, revealing a handprint scanner. He quickly placed his hand on it, and the panel turned from blue, to green, granting him access to the room.

"You? Of course not." She said as she took a step towards her broken mirror, and kicked a broken piece towards the wall halfheartedly. "So are you calling about a second date, or are we just chatting?" Her bold statement caused Roy to give a laugh.

"_What else?_" He replied as he placed his bow and quiver in their place, and began to take off his Red Arrow uniform. She smirked, and gave herself a glanced in the broken mirror, and turned her head slightly to inspect her hair and makeup. "_I was going to ask you if you wanted to have breakfast. My treat." _He finished as she brushed a piece of loose hair behind her ear.

She gave a small grin, and met her own eyes in the mirror. Blue and cheery.

"Sure. Where at?" She asked as she walked back towards her closet, and pulled out her black leather jacket. For summer, the air had a little bit of a nip to it. Just as she was about to put it on, she paused, then returned it back to its place in her closet, and pulled out the jacket Roy had lent her last time, and threw it on. It was a little big on her, but it wasn't ridiculous, and it was comfortable.

"_There's this café downtown, Le Petit Arbre." _He said as he finally exited his secret room, and locked it up tight. Eternal gave a small laugh.

"You seem to have a thing for French cuisine." She joked, referring to the French restaurant they had visited on their first date. "I'll meet you there in twenty?" She asked as she checked to make sure her push knife was still in her pocket from last time, and the dagger in her boot. Now that she knew Luthor was watching she couldn't be careful enough.

"_Sounds good. You sure you don't want me to pick you up?"_He asked as he turned on the shower and checked the temperature of the water with his free hand. She shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"No. It's fine, really. I'll meet you there." She said before walking towards her bedroom door, and leaving the room. The lights turned off automatically behind her. Eternal walked through the halls, towards the kitchen, and peeked her head in as she said her goodbyes to Roy.

"I'll see you in a bit." She said as she hung up the phone, and slipped it in her back pocket as she walked towards the island in the kitchen and poured herself a glass of orange juice like she did every morning. Wally gave her an odd look, and then snatched the glass out of her hand just before it met her lips.

When Eternal realized that her juice had been stolen, and she was now holding air, she narrowed her eyes, and then looked towards Wally- who had taken it upon himself to sip from her cup.

"You know, if I would have poured that for you, I would have given it to you." She leaned on the counter, and continued to glare at Wally as he chugged the orange juice while keeping his eyes on Eternal. Robin chuckled from his seat across from Wally, and Megan watched the two with a smile on her face. Superboy was watching the white noise on the television.

Wally finished the orange juice with a sigh, and placed the glass back on the table in front of Eternal as she muttered something along the lines of 'pig'.

"Well…I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm heading out to go have breakfast with Roy. I'll be back in time for training. Promise." She chirped as she turned on her heel and went to leave the room. Wally stared at her with wide eyes, looked towards Robin, who just shrugged, and then Wally was gone in a blink of an eye.

Just as Eternal reached the main hall of the Cave, Wally appeared by her side, and the loose strands of hair blew into her face. She brushed them out of her eyes, and then shot a look at Wally.

"Breakfast? With Roy?" Wally said so fast that Eternal could barely understand. She raised an eyebrow at him as she leaned against the door, and then cleared her throat. Wally finally recognized the jacket she was wearing, and swallowed hard.

"Um… excuse me?" She said softly as she leaned forward a little as if she was trying to hear him better.

Wally took a moment to calm himself down, and then with a soft sigh, he took a few steps back. Why try and convince Eternal that going out with Roy was a bad idea? Because he wanted her to himself? Roy was a good guy, why should he step in between that?

"Uh… just… have fun. Okay?" Wally said as he continued to walk backwards. Eternal gave him a strange look, and then began to push the door open. She gave Wally a smile, and then nodded at him.

"I will." She answered with a smile as she disappeared behind the door, and made her way to the Zeta tubes. Wally frowned at the door as it closed behind her, and the slowly turned his back to it, and walked back to the kitchen.

-0-

This time, instead of stepping out of the Zeta transporter, and then taking off her ring, Eternal was careful to remove her ring before stepping outside, and then quickly made her way out of the transporter, and the alley. She quickly blended in with the morning's rush of people, and waited at the crosswalk patiently, and then crossed the street with the rest of the horde, carefully maneuvering out of the way of ignorant businessmen yelling at their phones, and mothers toting around their handfuls of children. Once Mercy crossed the street, she continued forward towards the next street, and once she reached the corner, she turned right, and her eyes landed on the antique sign with the words _Le Petit Arbre_ in hand painted script, and began to walk towards it.

Once she reached the café, she stopped outside of the fenced area that surrounded the outside seats, and looked around.

Mercy scanned the seats for Roy's head of red hair, and frowned when she didn't see him. She then scanned the block for Roy's cherry red convertible, and pulled out her phone.

Right on time, so where was he?

"Miss?" There was a soft tug on the bottom of Mercy's jacket, and she looked down to her right side. Standing next to her was a small boy with bright blonde hair and green eyes who couldn't have been older than four or five. His small face was splashed with freckles, and his mouth was slightly agape, revealing his missing two front teeth to Mercy, who couldn't help but smile at the small child.

"Yes?" She said as she kneeled down, now at the boy's level. He held up a piece of paper he had crumpled in his small hand, and thrust it towards Mercy, who gently took it from his hand, and carefully unfolded it as the boy began to speak.

"The nice man told me to look for the pretty lady. I thought you were pretty- so I'm giving it to you." He chirped as she watched him, while unfolding the crumpled paper at the same time. She could tell it had been neatly folded before, but while in the small boy's hands, he had made a game of seeing how small he could make the ball of paper become. "I have to go now! Bye pretty lady!" The little boy chirped as he ran off, and embraced a man that Mercy assumed was his father, since they both shared the head full of blonde curls and freckles across their nose. She looked back down at the freshly unfolded paper, and stood as she read as the family of two walked away.

"_Mercy, the boy you just met is my uncle's co-worker's son, Daniel. I asked him to give you this letter so that I could tell you that- even though I haven't seen you today- I know you look beautiful." _Mercy couldn't help but feel that the letter was incredibly cheesy, but all the same, it made her giddy inside. Just as she was about to fold up the letter, she felt hands coming around her head, and turned around so quickly that the pair of hands didn't even get the chance to touch her, and her hand was in her pocket, gripped around her push knife.

When her own gray eyes made contact with the pair of familiar blue, and now bewildered eyes she had come to adore, she stopped, and removed her hand from her jacket. Roy was standing there, his hands held up as if in surrender, and a surprised look on his face.

"_Oh great. Second date and I've managed to successfully convince him I'm a freak." _She thought to herself as she opened her mouth, just for a stutter to come out as Roy began to speak as well.

"I guess surprising you isn't an option?" Was the first thing to come out of Roy's mouth as a smirk formed on his face. Mercy stood there for a moment, and then a weak laugh escaped her lips.

"Yeah… I guess not." She said with a slight cough. "S-sorry about… that." She stuttered as she folded her arms, and began to drum on her arm with her fingers. A nervous habit that she needed to kick.

Roy reached out for her hand, and after a moment of staring at it, Mercy reached out, and took it with a smile.

"I'll keep that in mind for your birthday. You said that was in July, right?" Roy asked as he took her hand, and began to guide them on the patio of the café, where the employees greeted them with smiles and Roy with casual 'how are you today Mr. Harper?' and 'the usual today, Mr. Harper?'. Mercy couldn't help but smile at the comment, and gave a small chuckle.

"July 1st." She corrected as he guided them towards a seat away from everyone else, and he released her hand to walk ahead, and pull out her chair for her. Mercy felt her face warm, and she smiled at Roy, who didn't hesitate to return the smile.

"July first. I'll remember that." He said as Mercy took her seat, and he moved to sit in the chair across from her. Mercy smirked, and the waiter moved over to their table to give them glasses of water, and hand them menus.

"I'll hold you too that." She said slyly as she reached over, and took a sip of the glass the waiter had just placed in front of her. She felt parched since her workout this morning had worn her out, and Wally had so rudely stolen her glass of orange juice, which she usually had every morning at about the same time.

Roy smirked back at her, and then the two placed their orders with the waiter, who rushed off to put in their orders with the chef.

"So what have you been up to these past… two days?" Mercy asked as she took another sip of her water. It still wasn't as refreshing as the orange juice she was waiting on, and she frowned at it as Roy began to speak.

"Just working, working… working." He said as he counted the days off on his fingers. Mercy scoffed, and reached forwards, and grabbed the hand he was counting on.

"You _should _have called in and said," She placed a finger on top of the one he began with, and then moved to each one as she spoke. "_Cough, cough, _I'm sick. _Cough, cough, _I'm sick. _Cough, cough, _I'm sick. And then called me so we could… I don't know… go to the zoo?"Roy laughed as she finished speaking, and fluidly wrapped his hand around hers. Mercy didn't even care that he was holding her hand. As far as she was concerned, he could hold her hand whenever he pleased.

"Sounds like a good idea, but where I work, there are no days off." He said as began playing with her fingers. She laughed, and thought of her own _job_. No days off indeed.

"I understand." She said as the waiter made his way back to the table, and gave them their drinks. Mercy instantly let go of Roy's hand, and took a long draw from her orange juice, and then set the glass down with a sigh. Roy watched her with a strange expression on his face, and then returned his own glass to its place.

"Thirsty…?" He asked as Mercy looked up at him, and gave him a sheepish smile.

"No… I just… have this thing where I drink a glass of orange juice…" She hesitated, and watched as Roy listened to her carefully, his eyebrows raised slightly as he reached forward to pick up his own drink. "Every morning… at the same time." She coughed, and then hastily picked up her drink and took a sip. Roy stifled a laugh, and Mercy rolled her eyes as she finished sipping on her drink. She waved her hand at him, and then put her drink down.

"Go ahead. It's not like my roommates didn't get a laugh out of my habit when I told them." She sighed as she looked at Roy with the smallest hint of a smirk.

Roy just chuckled, and then reached out again towards Mercy. Without a second thought, Mercy reached out, and took his hand with a small laugh.

"I wouldn't-" His sentence was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing loudly in his pocket. Mercy released his hand, and suddenly got the feeling that their breakfast was going to be cut short. Roy plucked the phone out of his pocket, grimaced at the caller ID, and looked up towards Mercy.

"I've got to-" Mercy held up a hand, stopping his explanation short.

"It's okay. Go ahead." She said softly as he gave her a sad look. He honestly didn't want to take it, because he knew that he would have to leave. He slowly answered the phone, hoping it would stop ringing before he could answer, but he knew better.

Just as Roy answered his phone, Mercy felt hers vibrate in her pocket, and discreetly pulled it out of her pocket. It was a text message from Wally.

_Mission. Need you back at the cave ASAP. _

_Batman's pissed. _

"Shit." Mercy whispered to herself. She had only been acquainted with the Bat for about three weeks, but that was long enough to teach her that The Dark Knight was not to be toyed with. Roy was still muttering to someone on the phone furiously when Mercy suddenly stood, nearly knocking over the table. Roy's eyes looked towards her, and she gave him a sympathetic look as he hurriedly hung up the phone.

"I've got to go," She quickly thought up a lie to tell Roy. Even though she didn't want to lie to him, she didn't want to face the wrath of the Bat anytime soon. She may be able to kill the man with her bare hands, but that doesn't mean she wanted to deal with any tantrums. "Megan's really sick and she's just…" She made a motion imitating vomiting, and frowned at Roy. Roy stood, and pulled out a fifty from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"I understand," He said. "Do you want me to drive you home? It doesn't take me long to get to work from here." Mercy shook her head as she began to back away from him, prepared to sprint all the way back to the Zeta transporter.

"No, it's alright. I can walk…or run." Mercy's statement caused Roy to chuckle, and he walked towards her, and gently grabbed her hand before she could move any further.

"I'm sorry our breakfast got cut short." He apologized. Mercy cast her eyes downwards, and then sent him a small smirk. "Maybe another time?" He asked.

Mercy allowed a small smile, and gave a small nod as she watched Roy's blue orbs. But before she even realized what was happening, he was getting closer to her, and before she could react, his lips met hers, and the warmth they provided left hers just as soon as they came.

Mercy stood there for a moment, and then was suddenly jerked back to reality when a flash of light blinded her for a moment, causing the two to turn to look at where it had come from. A reporter with a large camera was leaning in as close as he could get to the couple, and was snapping pictures over and over. Mercy glared at the man, and before Roy could stop her, she thrust her hand out at the man's camera, and smashed the lens he was snapping pictures with, causing him to stumble back, and cry out as the camera smashed into his face.

Mercy cracked her knuckles, and then turned on her heel with a huff, and then waved at Roy over her shoulder, who couldn't help but stare at the girl with his mouth slightly agape.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"_Authorizing:Eternal, B-1-3." _

As soon as Mercy, now as Eternal with her ring on, made it back to the Cave, she couldn't help but notice that it was eerily empty. Minus- or course, the Batman himself, standing in the center of the room, with only the glow of the holographic computer to light his silhouette. She could just make out his eyes narrowing at her as she strode into the room, and she stopped a few feet in front of him, and placed her hands on her hips, then raised a hand up and motioned around the empty room.

"Send them off without me?" She questioned as Batman's bat-glare grew even more intense. Eternal's hand returned to her hip, and with one last narrowing of the eyes, he turned around, and typed in a few codes on the computer.

"You have your own mission to complete." He stated in his usual monotone. "Go and suit up, you'll need to leave immediately after your debriefing. Eternal gave Batman a questioning look, but none the less, turned on her heel, and walked towards her room at her usually brisk pace. The Bat was already sending her on covert missions by herself? Since when did the Bat trust so easily?

Just as she pushed the door open, she heard the Zeta come to life, but ignored them as the door slide shut behind her, and walked to her closet to retrieve her uniform. She quickly put it on, then checked, and double checked to make sure that all of her weapons were in their proper place. She then quickly French braided her long red hair, and placed her mask over her blue eyes. Eternal blinked at her reflection in the mirror, and adjusted her mask slightly, then her kukri holster before finally tightening it, and securing it in its place, and then repeated the movement with her boots, and tightened the laces as needed.

Eternal gave herself one last glance, and then began to walk towards her door. Suddenly, she stopped, and then walked quickly back towards her bed, and reached underneath it to pull out her duffle bag full of knives.

She opened the bag, reached inside, and pulled out her glider. Her precious glider was the only thing she had ever stolen for herself. She had heard rumors that the Batman had used the same type of glider to construct his cape, but she wasn't going to admit stealing from Wayne Tech when she had never even been suspected of it. She had gotten in and out of Wayne Tech so easily, no one knew that the thief had even stepped foot into the building, or even in Gotham for that matter.

She quickly folded up the glider and tucked it behind her kukris. When she was sure it was secure, she finally left the room after kicking the duffle bag back underneath her bed.

Eternal jogged down the hall, her steps silent as she approached the doors. They slid open before her, and her first reaction at the sight of the two figures was to tense, and she scowled.

Red Arrow was standing next to Batman, his back to the door, and his eyes on the screen that contained the details of Eternal's mission.

Eternal quietly made her way inside, and then cleared her throat to get the two male's attention. Batman didn't acknowledge her, but Red Arrow turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight of Eternal. He then swiftly diverted his gaze towards Batman, and Eternal could already tell his temper was about to boil over.

"_Eternal?"_He snarled at the Bat, causing the Dark Knight to cast a swift glare at the hero standing next to him. Red Arrow looked away from Batman, but he didn't step back. "I have to work with _her?"_ Eternal felt her own anger begin to boil at his tone.

"Oh _boo hoo_," Eternal taunted as she walked up to them. She stopped behind them, and Batman finally stopped typing, and turned around to face her. "Not like I want to work with you either. But it certainly would have been _nice_ to _know_." She sneered as she shot a look at the Bat, who returned it with a narrowing of his eyes.

Red Arrow was opened his mouth to retort, and Batman raised a hand in threat. Eternal made her lips into a fine line, and Red Arrow glared at the hand that had appeared in front of his face.

"_Enough_." Batman shot as he glared at the two of them. Eternal continued to glare at him, while Red Arrow stepped back, and gave the Bat some space. "You two are easily the most combat ready members- and associates- of the league, and I'm _expecting you both _to be able to handle this _swiftly_ and _professionally_. Understood?" Eternal gave a curt nod, and so did Red Arrow.

"Good. Now, your mission." He turned around, and Eternal's eyes gazed up towards the screen, while Red Arrow craned his head to get a good look at it from his spot a two or three feet away from Eternal.

Photos of Lex Luthor's mansion came onto the screen, and Eternal couldn't help but slap her forehead against her hand, causing Red Arrow to give her a confused look.

_Of course he'd send you on a mission concerning Luthor. You know the most about him, dumbass. _She thought to herself as she dragged her hand down her face, and looked back up at the screen, and Batman, who was now glaring at her. She shot back her own glare, and held it there. _I'm starting to regret this hero crap. I should have just retired when I had the chance. _

"Is there a _problem_?" Batman nearly growled at Eternal. Eternal shook her head, and motioned for Batman to continue. Red Arrow concealed his shock at Eternal's daring attitude towards Batman, and then turned his gaze towards the screen as well.

"We've traced back the items stolen by the thief Night to Lex Luthor. None of these items were found during the League's search of LexCorp, or during the Team's search of Lex Towers. The only location we could logically deduce that was left was Luthor's own home." Batman turned towards Eternal, his arms at his sides, but his demeanor still demanding authority. Eternal looked up at him, her eyes covered by her mask, but were burning with an angry fire underneath it. She knew that he was aware that Eternal, or _Mercy_, had grown up in the Luthor Mansion. She knew all of the hiding places, all of the secret passage ways, and every nook and cranny of the place.

"Find what you can. Observe, report, and retake what does not belong to him if necessary." Batman finished as he walked towards the Zeta tubes. "Use the motorcycles in the loading bay. You have twenty four hours to complete your mission." And with that, he stepped into the Zeta tube, and with a flash of light, the Bat was gone, leaving the two heroes to turn and glare at each other.

"You heard him." Eternal snarled as she turned and walked away from Red Arrow. Red Arrow turned and looked at her. "Twenty hours."

Red pointed at the screen, and glared at her back.

"I'm reading up on Luthor's security measures. Kind of _important_." He snapped back at her, causing her to turn on her heel, and glare at him. She wanted to tell him that she knew the house like the back of her hand, but decided otherwise, and decided on a small white lie instead.

"Eidetic memory. I've got it all. Let's go." She retorted, causing Red to glare at her back once more, and then hesitantly walk away as he tried to read as much as possible. Soon enough, he was walking after Eternal, who had already made it to the loading bay, and was throwing on a black helmet that had been assigned to her during the first week of her arrival. She then walked over to her own bike, and sat down on it, and plucked the jacket that had been thrown over it over her clothes. Red Arrow did the same, but with Superboy's old motorcycle, and threw on Superboy's jacket to cover his own uniform. He then took his quiver, and collapsible bow, and placed it in one of the saddle bags attached to the bike.

Eternal started her bike, and obnoxiously revved the engine as Red took his time getting ready. He glared at her as he put on his helmet, and she then began to roll forwards impatiently.

"Why are you in such a rush?" Red Arrow asked through the helmet's comm. system. Eternal narrowed her eyes at his question, and replied with a shrill growl from her engine. Red Arrow huffed, and rolled forward with her to the opening of the Cave.

"Red Tornado, Bay doors please." Eternal asked politely through her comm. system. Red Tornado complied swiftly, and with a considerate wish of luck to the two of them on their mission before closing the bay doors behind them after they pulled out of the Cave.

"Thanks, Red. I'll see you tomorrow!" Eternal chirped as the two of them drove away from the cave, and took the rural route to Metropolis.

-0-

As Eternal took off her jacket and threw it on top of her bike and added a few more branches, Red Arrow placed his quiver back in its place, and checked on the string on his bow. Eternal tapped the button on the collar of her uniform, and it switched to stealth mode, causing the uniform to turn completely black. Eternal couldn't help but smirk when she felt like she had just returned home from a long trip.

Even though the burgundy was a bold statement for Eternal, black would forever be her first choice.

"Ready?" Eternal asked Red as she checked her kukri holster, assuring herself that it was still in its rightful place. Red nodded in response, and she promptly began to move forward, her kukris drawn so that she could cut away at the foliage that blocked their path.

"Luthor's mansion is surrounded by woods. But by no means does that mean that-" Eternal plucked a stopped short, and held an arm out, causing Red Arrow to stop, and raise his bow and arrow higher. She looked back at him, and nodded slightly towards one of the trees. Red Arrow squinted, and upon close inspection, he realized that a knot in one of the trees was actually a camera- and above that camera was a small turret. "He's upgraded._ Nice_." She said casually as she pulled out a scrambler that the Batman had given to Red Arrow before they left, and aimed the special device carefully as Red Arrow checked his utility belt frantically to see if she had taken all of them. As he suspected, she certainly had.

Eternal threw the device with precision, and within five seconds, the camera was on loop, along with the entire grid's security devices. All motion sensors would believe nothing had passed them, security cameras would display signs of safety.

"Let's go." Eternal said as she beckoned Red Arrow forward, and she continued to lead the way. Red Arrow was beginning to grow curious about how the girl before him knew so much about Luthor, and took the opportunity to question her about her motives as he silently followed her through the forest before them.

"So, how do you know so much about Luthor?" Red Arrow asked bluntly, causing Eternal to roll her eyes as she continued to guide them through the forest. Did every team of heroes talk so much on missions?

"The security system may have been disabled, but that does not mean we should be _speaking_." Eternal said flatly as she vaulted over a large fallen tree. Red scowled, and vaulted over the tree as well.

"We're too far out for anyone to hear." He retorted quietly. Eternal scowled.

"And how can you be so sure?" She questioned just as quietly. Red Arrow glared at her once again, and for his own benefit, he took aim at the back of her head, and imagined firing the arrow at her, and then another, and another, and maybe another. Eternal frowned, and sighed.

"You know, if this mission is going to go smoothly, I'd recommend you aim your arrows _elsewhere_, Red." Eternal said almost casually, but with a hint of frustration. Red Arrow couldn't believe the girl had noticed, but he aimed the arrow away from her once more, and continued to follow.

"Just answer the question. You don't need to go into extreme detail… right now, at least." Red Arrow practically demanded as they continued. Eternal sighed, stopped suddenly, and yet again, placed her hand against her forehead in frustration.

_I should have just retired._ She thought to herself as she dropped her hand to her side, and gazed up at the opening in the trees towards the night sky. It had taken them several hours and many complaints on Red Arrow's part to get to the outskirts of Metropolis from Happy Harbor. They certainly had plenty of time to complete the mission, but they had to take into account that anything could happen.

"My mother." She stated bluntly before turning around, and scowling at Red Arrow through her mask. She shot him a sarcastic look, and her mask rose with her eyebrows. "Anymore questions or can we get on with the mission?" She snapped at him. Red Arrow frowned, and then after a moment, motioned forwards with his bow and arrow, and Eternal turned her back on him to continue guiding through the forest.

After a few moments of silence, Eternal paused to peek through the trees, and she listened carefully for the hum of the electric fences. Red Arrow appeared next to her, and she couldn't help but feel that aggravated feeling rise in her chest she had whenever she was near him.

"How did your mother know Luthor?" Red suddenly asked. Eternal's eyes shot wide open, and she turned her head towards Red with an incredulous expression on her face. Red just looked back at her with wide eyes, and shrugged.

"Really? _Now_? You want to question me, _right now?"_ She snarled as she roughly shoved Red Arrow. To his surprise, her strong push nearly knocked him off balance. He shot a fierce look at her, and then huffed as he turned back to look out the opening in the trees.

"I can hear the fences." Eternal whispered to herself. "Which _means_ they're turned them all the way up tonight. Brilliant." Red Arrow cast his gaze over the fence, which after a moment's listening, he also confirmed that he could hear the electric buzz.

"How far up would all the way up be, exactly?" Red asked as he searched for a weak point, or something he could shoot at to turn the fence off. He found nothing, but when he looked back towards Eternal, she could see her staring at the top of one of the brick columns of the fence.

"Enough to kill an adult elephant," She replied bluntly as she squinted at the column. She nodded towards the columns, and Red Arrow followed her gaze. "The tops of the columns have metal coverings at the top." She held up her hands in and created the shape of a circle. "But they're circular, leaving the corners bare."

"So we're going to use less than an inch's worth of space to climb over this fence?" Red Arrow asked sarcastically. Eternal narrowed her eyes at him, and then without another word, she sprinted towards the fence.

"Eternal wait-" Red Arrow stopped short when he watched with amazement as Eternal jumped into the air, climbed to the top of the column, and then did the most graceful back hand spring off the column by the tips of her fingers. She landed silently on the other side of the fence, and began to sprint away.

Red suddenly became furious, and was about to chase after her when the comm. in his ear chirped quietly, and her voice came through.

"_Stay put. I'll shut off the fence. You're too bulky to pull off a stunt like that." _She whispered as she ran through the large garden, keeping a close eye out for any more security measures. She paused behind a statue of Lex's grandmother to hold her finger to her comm. and take another shot at Red's abilities. Red was already steaming at her last comment, and she knew another would get him riled up enough to possibly get himself shocked.

"_And I wouldn't want you to drop all of your precious arrows now would I?" _She whispered as she peeked around the corner of the statue, and focused her eyes on statue across the garden that also doubled as an electric fence. As Red Arrow crossed his arms like a child, and quietly whispered swears at Eternal's well being under his breath, Eternal turned on the stealth vision on her mask, and studied the lasers that surrounded the switch. She smirked.

_How easy._ She thought to herself as she ran towards the lasers, and dove through them, evading them all with one swift movement.

She quickly opened the fake statue, and shut of the system with a quick hack that would make the computer believe that it was still up and running. Once Red Arrow no longer heard the humming sound coming from the fence, he quickly climbed over it, and made his way to the gardens.

Once he found Eternal, who had moved to a statue of Lex Luthor himself, she pointed towards the glass windows above them.

"So how are we-?" Red Arrow whispered. The back of Eternal's hand shot up in front of his face, and he have a quiet growl as she turned around and glared at him. She then held a finger to her lips, and motioned for him to follow.

With a blink of an eye, Eternal vanished, and Red Arrow looked around the gardens, now alarmed at the sudden disappearance of his comrade. A small whistle came from above him, and he looked upwards towards the ledge above. Eternal was crouched upon it, a bored look on her face. Her eyes narrowed at the eye contact, and Red Arrow aimed his grappling arrow at the spot a few inched from her head, and fired before Eternal could confirm if he was aiming directly at her or not.

When the arrow lodged itself in the wall next to Eternal, she growled quietly, but did not move a muscle as she rope pulled taught, and Red Arrow pulled himself up.

"Ass." Eternal muttered loud enough for him to hear before pulling out her knives again, and climbing up the wall. Red Arrow glared at her, and looked for the best place to fire his next arrow.

Red Arrow let loose his arrow, and as he glided up the wall past Eternal, he immaturely shot her a rude gesture, and without warning, she snatched his ankle, and hitched a free ride off of him. Red grunted slightly at the sudden added weight, but did not speak; they were too close to possible contacts to risk giving away their position.

As the two of them pulled themselves onto the roof, Eternal gave a quiet chuckle. Red Arrow shot her a look.

"Skylight." She whispered as she pointed ahead of them. As the two of them moved towards it, Red Arrow couldn't help but notice how his footsteps crunched because of the tiny rocks on the flat roof, and Eternals were still silent- as if she were walking on carpet.

Eternal made it to the skylight first, and began unscrewing the dome carefully with one of her knives, pausing every few turns or so to listen for any alarms. Her mask didn't show any kind of security activity at the moment, so she continued. Red Arrow hesitated, and then pulled out an arrow, and began to do the same.

Soon enough, and without raising any alarms, they were able to remove the skylight dome from the roof.

"I'm going in." Red announced in a whisper as Eternal scanned the room. Just as Red Arrow jumped inside, Eternal's eyes widened in panic, and she let out a loud whisper in protest as she snatched Red Arrow by his quiver, and grunted loudly as she tried to not fall into the room with him. Red Arrow grunted as well with his sudden stop, and then quickly looked around him, and then up at Eternal with a fierce look in his eyes.

"What are you_ doing_?" He hissed, his teeth clenched as he spoke. Eternal glared at him, and tightened her grip on his quiver.

"Ever stop and think about checking for infrared lasers_, Red?" _She snarled in a whisper as she adjusted her grip once more. She hadn't gotten a very good hold on him, and that wasn't helping her since she didn't have much to hold onto to keep herself on the roof.

Red was about to make a retort at Eternal's statement, and then stopped short when he realized the terrible mistake he had made.

"And to think, you were trained by a member of the_ Justice League." _She said with a sarcastic tone dripping from every word. Red Arrow shot another fierce look at her, and she just glared back.

Before he could say another word, Eternal began to speak again.

"You have one chance to make it past the lasers. I've got to swing you towards the bookcase, where I can only hope you make a solid landing_." _She whispered with an expression of impatience on her features. Red Arrow narrowed his eyes at her again, and crossed his arms, causing Eternal to huff loudly, look away, and adjust her hold on him again. She _was _only holding him by two fingers.

"Or I can drop you, and leave you here while I make my escape_." _She groaned quietly as she gritted her teeth, still looking away from Red Arrow, who was tempted to wriggle his way free and just shoot Eternal through the eye with an arrow… or five.

"Just start swinging_." _Red Arrow seethed as he tried to ignore Eternal's quiet swearing under her breath.

Without warning, Eternal started moving him back and forth, gaining momentum, and within three swings, she released him without a word, and Red Arrow had to quickly compose himself in order to avoid the lasers.

Eternal then gave a quiet cough to get the man's attention, and he turned to her with a huff. She pointed directly at a book with a red spine, and imitated the motion of taking the book off of the shelf, and opening it. Red Arrow slowly copied her motions, and discovered as soon as he opened the book that it contained another one of Luthor's keypads, and shot a look up at her.

_How did she know that?_ He thought as he glared. He watched her carefully as she signed out the numbers to type in, and then carefully typed them in just as she had signed them, and he looked up to confirm that the lasers had shut off- but Eternal had disappeared.

"Better than I thought you would do_." _She whispered from behind him, causing his insides to jump. But of course, outside, he was as collected as he always was. Red turned around with a glare, and shoved the keypad towards her.

"How did you know the code?" Red snarled at her. She tapped her temple, and then reached down at the keypad to type in another code, except this one was over ten characters long.

"I've spied on this household many times before." She said, and then nodded upwards towards the skylight without looking away from the keypad- she was still typing in codes. Red assumed that she was disarming most of the house's security system. "That skylight give me a perfect view of Luthor or his lawyer _Mercy_ typing in codes." Red Arrow seemed to tense at the name Mercy, and Eternal looked up from the keypad, her eyebrow raised at her comrades sudden change of demeanor. She gave him a once over, and he felt it, which caused him to look back towards her.

"What?" He hissed. _Oh, well someone took a bite to the ass. _Eternal thought as she glowered at him.

"Something bothering you?" She whispered in return as she looked back down at the keypad, and typed in another code. Her mask alerted her that the motion sensors in the sanctum below them had been deactivated.

Red Arrow hesitated to speak, but then sighed quietly, and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I think I know Mercy." He said quietly underneath his hands. Eternal suddenly stopped typing, and looked up. The way he said her name…. it sounded far too familiar for her liking. She gave him a quizzical look.

"The android?" She questioned. Red suddenly looked confused. Eternal continued. "She looks incredibly life-like. Blonde hair, great body, the whole package." Her voice held a bit of sarcasm as she spoke, but she could feel Red Arrow relax slightly next to her, which made her wonder- How many Mercy's could be wandering around Star City. "Terrible social skills though." She finished with a mumble as she typed in the last code.

The staircase behind Red Arrow suddenly, and loudly, shrunk back into the wall, causing him to whip around, and aim his arrow forward.

Once the bookcase finished its painfully slow slide to the left, and disappeared behind the bookcase next to it, a light flicked on before them, then another, and another until the entire staircase was lit before them.

Red Arrow narrowed his eyes, and then took a step forward, intending to lead the two of them down the stairs. But before he could continue, Eternal's arm shot out in front of him, and he was forced to stop. When he turned to glare at her, she was watching him for a moment, her white eye slits slightly wide.

"Ladies first." She whispered before lowering her arm, and then leading the way down the stairs. Red Arrow huffed quietly to himself, and then after a moment, followed Eternal down the stairs. Soon after Red Arrow followed Eternal, the bookcase gave a sudden jerk, and closed behind them. Eternal did not acknowledge this, but Red Arrow stopped, turned around, and swore a bit too loudly for Eternal's taste, causing her to turn around and glare at him.

"Do you mind?" She said at a normal volume. She knew that the walls were sound proof, but she also knew that the question would infuriate Red Arrow, who whirled around, and gave Eternal an incredulous expression, and pointed his finger at the door.

"Our only way out just closed behind us, _Eternal_. You got a plan for _that_?" He spat, causing Eternal's expression to go from a playful scolding, to downright bored.

"I noticed, _Red Arrow_." Eternal's nonchalant tone made Red Arrow want to rip her face off. "It opens when the sensors at the bottom of the stairs detect a presence leaving the sanctum-" Red Arrow was about to interrupt her, and she held up her hand to stop him. "Which I've already set for it to wipe all files from the systems hard drive so that our little _visit_ here is never recorded, in case you were concerned…" She turned around, and continued down the stairs, one of her kukris drawn as a precaution, and Red Arrow shot her back a fierce look, and then aimed his arrow forward as he walked down the stairs, just over Eternal's head.

The door at the bottom of the stairs slid open, and Eternal tensed in her place. Red Arrow wasn't close enough yet to see what had caused the seasoned hero to stop, but he could feel Eternal's demeanor change quickly, and waited for her signal.

"Red…" Eternal's voice sounded slightly different, less confident, and more… worried. This change in the tone of her voice set off an internal alarm in Red Arrow, and he approached her slowly.

"What is…. It…." He nearly dropped his bow and arrow, and his face grew pale. He finally got a good look at the walls of the sanctum.

"Is she…?" He couldn't finish his sentence. Eternal couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight before them.

"Alive?" Eternal's voice only came out in a whisper, and she swallowed hard as she slowly walked forwards towards the cold metal table with the sad excuse for a mattress the woman was laying on. Eternal had to resist the urge to smooth the woman's hair, or touch her skin, for she might wake up. "I don't know, Red." She whispered again. "I don't know."

**-0-**

**Who do you think it is? **

**Okay, so, you guys made me kind of sad these past two chapters. I like hearing from all of you, but I've only seen one or two reviews stemming from the last two chapters. **

**So, let's up the ante a little. Say, four reviews for this chapter, and I'll update? ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

**I'm too predictable for my own good.**

**-0-**

_Oh god._ Eternal thought to herself as she and Red Arrow stood in the doorway of Luthor's sanctum. _I killed her. I handed her over to Luthor and I killed her._ She held out her hand above the woman's face, and waited to feel for a weak breath of air. Nothing. Eternal squeezed her eyes shut, and pulled her hand away sharply while she practically stumbled back from the woman.

"I don't think she's breathing." Eternal's voice still sounded a bit shaken, and Red Arrow took a step forward, and slowly leaned over to listen for she sound of air escaping the woman's lips. Eternal protested, and reached forward to stop him. _Mom please be breathing. Please breathe. _

Red leaned forward and listened closely for the sound of breathing, and Eternal waited in the stark silence. After a moment, even Eternal heard the small, shakey, breath of air the woman took into her lungs, and she forced herself to suppress the urge to release a loud sigh of relief. She was alive. That's all that mattered.

"We should get her out of here." Red Arrow said suddenly as he stood up straight to observe the woman's bindings. It looked as though she had been restrained for a while. As soon as the words escaped Red Arrow's lips, Eternal jumped, and snatched Red Arrow's wrist as he reached for the restraints.

"No!" She snapped a little too loudly. The word echoed slightly in the large space, and Red Arrow almost cringed. Eternal's eyes darted to the woman on the table, and she was relieved to find that she was still unconscious. She looked back towards Red Arrow, who was staring at her with furious eyes.

"And why not?" He snarled as he ripped his arm away. Eternal didn't try to take his arm back.

"Because if she goes missing, Luthor will be sure to notice. And that means he'll figure out that someone else other than himself and Mercy knew the codes to deactivate his security measures." Eternal whispered as she eyed the woman on the table. She wondered why she was in restraints when Luthor knew that she couldn't walk, let alone feed herself. "If he changes those codes, the Team, and the League will never have access to Luthor's mansion again. Do we_ really_ want that? And how would we get her back to the Cave?" Red Arrow gave a quiet sigh, and turned to look at the woman as Eternal was doing. He didn't want to say it, but she was right. If the League lost access to Luthor's mansion, they would lose valuable evidence of Luthor's crimes, and he would go unpunished.

"We just need to find the vials, gather Intel, and get out. We'll inform Batman of… _her_, and leave it to the League to rescue her." Eternal finished as she backed away from the table, ripping her eyes away from her mother's pale face. Something felt very wrong, but she wasn't about to stand there and contemplate what it could possibly be.

Red Arrow grit his teeth.

"Fine." He barked quietly as Eternal moved towards a computer, and slyly pulled out a flash drive from her utility belt. With a sleight of hand, she plugged it into the computer, and it came to life. The flash drive hacked the computer, and brought up a command prompt screen.

"Fine." Eternal said softly, more to herself than Red. Red Arrow glanced back at Eternal with a strange look on his face, and then turned his back to her once more as he continued to search for the vials in the massive collection of chemicals and surgical equipment.

Eternal quickly searched through the files, decrypted them, read over them, and then copied them to her flash drive over and over until she collected enough information about Luthor that would put him in jail for the rest of his life if they could find the right pieces of evidence to convict him.

Just before she was about to move to search the fridge filled with chemicals nearby, her eyes landed on two files that made her heart freeze for a split second.

_Mendelssohn, Nava. Mendelssohn-Nacht, Mercy._

She glanced at Red Arrow's blurry reflection in the screen, and when she was satisfied that he was not going to see, she selected the files, and attempted to decrypt them quickly. After decrypting two layers of encryption codes, she stopped, and huffed quietly.

_Looks like I'm going to have to wait to see what you've said about me, Luthor_. She thought to herself as she copied the files, encryptions and all, and then wiped the hard drive of any recording of her presence.

"Find anything?" Red Arrow asked as he approached Eternal, who quickly, but smoothly placed the flash drive back in her utility belt. She was quiet for a moment, and her eyes focused on the fridge nearby. She noticed the thumbprint scanner, and walked towards it.

"The vials should be in here," She started as she activated a holographic computer on her arm similar to the one Robin had on his. Batman had granted Robin permission to build her one after Eternal had expressed the desire to see Robin's, and she had easily hacked the Cave computers just as Robin had many times before. "But I need to trick the scanner before we can get to them. You'll have eight seconds to open, grab the vials, and close the door before any alarms begin to go off." She warned, causing Red Arrow to stand at attention in front of the fridge as Eternal began to deactivate the security device on the fridge manually. "I'm sure Robin could give you more time, but I'm no Boy Wonder…" She muttered under her breath as the continued to type.

"Three, two, one…" She pointed at Red, and he took that as his signal. He quickly wrenched open the fridge, scanned the shelves as Eternal counted down the seconds on the clock. He narrowed his eyes at the rows and rows of similar looking vials, and growled when he reached the second to last shelf and couldn't find them.

"Four seconds." Eternal announced as Red Arrow finally spotted the deep purple vials, and snatched them from the shelf. Red pulled his arm out of the fridge, and slammed the fridge shut- all with a second to spare. Eternal shut off her holographic computer, and turned on her heel to walk towards the stairway.

"Time to go. We've been here too long already." She said softly as she passed her Mother's still form. Her eyes were locked on her as she walked by, and she had to force herself to rip them away. Red Arrow placed the vials in a safe place in his quiver, and then trotted after her. He agreed, twenty minutes was too long to be in such a small place.

Red and Eternal quickly made their way up the stairwell, the heavy titanium door sliding shut behind them quietly as they went. The two walked up the stairs silently, both of them deep in thought as they climbed the stairs. Eternal reached back, and placed one hand on the hilt of one of her kukris, and continued up the stairs, her steps eerily silent as usual. Eternal's gesture set off an alarm in Red Arrow, and he notched back an arrow, and aimed it forward, prepared, just as Eternal was.

The bookcase gave its expected, and unbearably loud, groan and scrap as it opened, and a sliver of silver moonlight peeped through, which caused Eternal to narrow her eyes at it.

Something was blocking part of the light. And that something caused Eternal to whip her kukris out of their holsters, and Red Arrow to raise his bow higher behind her. They couldn't stop the door from opening, and the titanium door behind them was sealed shut.

The painfully slow door jumped open a handful of inches, and Eternal was finally able to confirm her suspicions.

Half of the android's face was visible in the moonlight pouring in from the open skylight above, and her synthetic dirty blonde hair shined unnaturally. She was in a different dress suit than last time, her skirt now black pinstripe and her blouse was an expensive white chiffon. Eternal was somewhat surprised that Luthor would spend so much money on his guardian that didn't even possess the ability to have a pulse.

"The Justice League does not have proper authorization to be on these premises." The android Mercy spoke as the bookcase door finally dragged itself across the floor one last time. Eternal rolled her eyes underneath her mask. Of course Mercy had been set to ARMED every night since Luthor's pet thief had fallen off his end of the spectrum; how could she forget?

"You know," Eternal shrugged as she set waved her kukri around carelessly, and then set it over her shoulder, her hand still firmly wrapped around it. She was making herself appear as though she didn't perceive Mercy as a threat, and took a few casual steps forward. She could see the Android's eyes refocus on her. "We're not Justice League. You would _think_ Luthor would keep you updated on things like that."

_And now she's targeting me…_Eternal thought to herself as she analyzed Mercy. Red Arrow kept his arrow aimed at the android's forehead, as Eternal mentally reminded herself that that area of the android's structure was one of the most seriously protected. Mercy narrowed her eyes at Eternal.

_Target locked._ Eternal thought as she smirked to herself.

"Identify yourselves." Mercy demanded. Eternal made a clicking sound with her tongue, and shook her head.

"And he hasn't bothered to make you a little more _social_, has he?" She sighed as she turned on her heel, and placed her back towards Mercy. Red Arrow looked alarmed, but kept his sights on the android before them. He couldn't understand how or _why_ Eternal would leave herself vulnerable to the enemy- but his question wouldn't go unanswered for long.

The android suddenly raised its arm, and a panel rose up, but that was as far as it was able to go before a long, thick dagger lodged itself in the crook of Mercy's arm, and the panel began to raise and lower itself over and over as if stuck on repeat.

"Or fix your weak spots?" Eternal sighed so quietly Red Arrow barely heard her. The android continued to look at Eternal with a blank look on her face. How she had pulled out the knives so quickly, Red didn't know, but she had moved so fast that when he blinked, he had missed her pulling out the knife, throwing the knife, and pulling out another long dagger from seemingly nowhere at all.

Mercy gave Eternal a cold, blank stare, and Eternal swung her braid with a smirk.

"We'll be on our way." Eternal chirped as she pointed the knife at Mercy. Mercy's eyes narrowed at the knife as the panel on her arm began to make a small whirring sound, and protest as it tried to close over and over again. The android continued to watch Eternal, and then suddenly, her eyes darted towards Red Arrow. Red tensed, and his bow rose higher.

"I see you've gotten too used to working alone, _Eternal_." Mercy said coldly as she raised her other hand, and pointed it at Red Arrow. A panel in her hand opened, and a set of three horribly sharp throwing stars came forward as Eternal spun on her heel- now hyper aware that she had left Red Arrow in a unfortunate position; and after that, everything to the two heroes began to move in what felt like slow motion- at its worst.

Red Arrow fired off his arrow just as Mercy fired off her first set of throwing stars, and Eternal threw her dagger. All five projectiles flew through the air at once. The arrow ran straight into one of the throwing stars, throwing both weapons off course, and sending them towards the floor. Eternal's knife came into the group next, and it hit the second throwing star in the very center, causing the two weapons to fly across the room, and the knife and the star to become embedded in the wooden walls. But the one star that made it through the attack continued to fly through the air, straight towards Red Arrow, who was pulling out another arrow to aim at Mercy as quickly as he could.

The star finally hit its mark, lodging itself deep into Red Arrow's arm, and causing him to cry out in pain as he dropped the arrow he had wrapped his hand around back into the quiver. Eternal jumped to attack Mercy, and Mercy turned to attack Eternal. Eternal quickly ducked underneath Mercy's swing, which would have broken half of the bones in her face if she would've been hit, and whipped out an extendable baton, and quickly made her way behind Mercy.

"Lights _out_." Eternal whispered with such venom, that she even stunned herself. She slammed the heavy reinforced electric baton straight at the Android's neck, and sparks flew in all directions. Mercy began to convulse wildly, and her voice began to distort and deepen as she fell to the ground, and the false projections of blue eyes began to fade into nothingness as her face slammed to the ground, smashing her fake ski slope nose.

Sparks continued to fly from the android's neck as Eternal walked over, and eyed Mercy's fallen form.

"Still nothing like the real thing." She sighed quietly as she nudged the crushed android's face with her foot. She then raised her foot up, and then brought it down so hard on Mercy's neck that the last few circuits and wires keeping it together severed, and the head lolled lazily to the side.

"Now that you're done playing with your food…" Red Arrow groaned from his spot against the bookshelf. Eternal finally looked up from Mercy, and her eyes widened in shock. The star was lodged deep in his arm, and blood was spilling from his would as he desperately tried to keep it off of his surroundings. Any DNA evidence left behind would be catastrophic to their mission- even though it had already been terribly compromised.

Eternal jumped over Mercy's still form, and rushed towards Red as she pulled a thick white bandage out of her utility belt and kneeled in front of him.

"You're such a-" Eternal's shot at Red Arrow's injury was cut short when she noticed that the star was lodged deeper in his arm than she originally thought. "Oh _shit_." She nearly cringed at the sight of it as Red Arrow glared at her.

"Bandage?" He snarled as he struggled to keep the blood off of the floor. Eternal seemed to come back to life, and began wrapping the bandage around his arm as quickly and tightly as she could.

"This is going to hurt." She said bluntly before pinching the star between her fingers. Red Arrow's eyes grew wide at the realization of what Eternal was about to do.

"No, no n-!" Red Arrow bit his lip so hard that he drew blood as Eternal pulled the star out of his arm, and placed it in her utility belt.

She continued to mend his wound as if she hadn't just caused the hero a considerable amount of pain, and sighed as Red Arrow continued to wither in silent agony.

"You're just lucky it was a smooth edge instead of serrated." She sighed as she tightly wrapped the bandage, causing Red Arrow to wince and swear a bit too loudly.

"That's not nice…" Eternal sighed again as she tightened his wrappings a bit too hard, causing him to swear again.

"Goddamn it!" He yelled as Eternal secured his wrappings and reached for his bow. Red Arrow realized what Eternal was reaching for, and jerked the shoulder his bow was resting over back, and grunted in pain at the sudden movement. Eternal did not withdraw her hand, but continued to hold it outwards towards him, a look of disapproval on her face, but of course, it was partially hidden by her mask.

"You need both hands to operate a bow and arrow, don't you?" She asked her voice quiet and her tone stern. Red Arrow's glare faltered for a moment, and he looked away, and then back at her.

"…yes. Yes you do." He mumbled as he shifted his weight. Eternal raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

"And I haven't been given a fancy grappling hook to get us both out of here with. So hand it over." She reached her hand towards him once more, and this time, he didn't jerk himself away, and allowed Eternal to wrap her hand around the bow, and remove it from his shoulder. But before she retracted her hand, he snatched her wrist. Eternal didn't react, but she did cast a bored glance at Red. She had been expecting him to do something like that.

"Be _very_ careful with that." He warned as he glared at Eternal. She just stared back, the same look of boredom on her face.

"Right." Eternal drawled as she pulled her wrist away from Red's grasp, and then grabbed his collar so that she could pull him to his feet, and he grunted in surprise when Eternal pulled him up to his feet with one hand. Red stumbled slightly as he regained his footing, and then gripped his injured arm gingerly as Eternal plucked a grappling arrow out of his quiver. He narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't say a word because he knew it was pointless to argue.

Eternal notched the arrow back with ease that Red Arrow was impressed by, and expertly shot the arrow out of the skylight, and both of them heard the grappling arrow secure itself with a satisfying _thunk_.

Red made a sound of surprise, and Eternal held her hand out to him as the line pulled taught.

"We don't have much time." Eternal said to him, causing him to look back at her. He stared at her for a moment with a peculiar look on his face, and then took her hand, her hand wrapping around his wrist, and his around hers.

Eternal pressed a button on Red's bow, and the grappling hook began to pull them up towards the skylight twelve feet above them. Eternal tightened her grip on Red's wrist as they rose up, and Red Arrow grunted in pain as he held his injured arm tightly against his torso.

They finally reached the opening of the skylight, and Eternal promptly swung a leg over her head, and hooked it over the edge in order to keep herself steady while she pulled Red Arrow up and out of the skylight with one arm.

Eternal groaned loudly at the weight she was lifting, but successfully got Red Arrow onto the roof without causing him further injury. Once Red was on the roof, he turned around, and held out his hand to Eternal, and pulled her onto the roof as well, saving her the trouble of pulling herself up any more than she already had.

Eternal sat on the roof for a moment, and caught her breath. After a moment, she looked up at Red, who was trying to assess his wound by staring at the bandages, and he looked up at the feeling of someone looking at him.

Eternal did not avert her gaze simply because that was not in her nature, but she did nod, and give a small sigh.

"Thank you." She said quietly as she held out Red's bow, watching him as he quickly took it from her hands, and gingerly placed it over his shoulders. Eternal then did a once over of her surroundings, and her eyes narrowed as she stood. Her night-vision came back online, and she did a once over of the dark rooftop, the moon blocked by a thick cloud above them.

Red Arrow stood behind her, and began to squint in the direction she was looking in as well.

"What?" He asked, causing Eternal to feel that feeling of annoyance in her chest for the second time that night. She gave a small growl, and Red Arrow narrowed his eyes at her.

_Just as we started to get along…_He thought as he rolled his eyes.

"Listen." She ordered in a whisper as she took a silent step away from him, leaving a three foot gap between them. Red Arrow gave Eternal a slightly odd look, as if she were a bit out of her mind, but none the less, closed his eyes, and listened closely.

There was nothing but silence, the sounds of crickets chirping, and the occasional _hoo_ of an owl in a far off tree, the sound of leaves in the wind- but nothing unusual.

But then, just before he was about to open his eyes, he heard it.

"_Hup_!" It was quiet, in the distance, but both heroes heard it, and before Red Arrow could open his eyes Eternal yelled out:

"_Get down!" _Eternal tackled Red Arrow to the ground, and his eyes snapped open- just in time to spot an enormous flail fly through the air above them, just narrowly missing Eternal's braid as they fell to the ground. Red Arrow had to resist the nagging urge to grip his arm as the pain from the fall shot through it, and forced himself to focus as Eternal jumped off of him, and withdrew her kukris, and took a fighting stance.

"There's only one asshole I know who carries a _flail._" Eternal taunted as she scanned the area for the attacker. Eternal took a few steps away from Red Arrow as he pulled out his crossbow, and climbed to his feet, and then turned his back to Eternal to cover her back.

"It's _called _a 'hammer'." A voice said from above them, causing the two heroes to immediately point their weapons upwards. Sportsmaster himself was standing on the edge of one of the four towers of Luthor Manor, a javelin in hand, casually held over his shoulder as if they were having a normal conversation.

"Too bad I don't know anyone who throws _knives_." He spat back at Eternal as she kept a close eye on the javelin in his hand. Eternal rolled her eyes at him, and Sportsmaster brought his arm back, and Eternal's sharp eyes caught him just in time to see him throw the javelin forward, directly at her.

Eternal's instincts went into high gear, and she slammed her kukris back in their holsters, causing Red Arrow to yell out, demanding she use her weapons.

Everything slowed down in Eternal's mind, and she focused only on the weapon heading directly towards her.

Just as Sportsmaster and Red Arrow began to believe the javelin had hit its mark, Eternal leaned to the side with the flexibility of an acrobat, and reached for the center of the javelin with her left hand. Her fingers wrapped around the javelin, and she spun around with it, allowing it to maintain its momentum, and with a soft grunt, sent it flying back up towards Sportsmaster while her back was still towards him- whose eyes were as wide as saucers at the sight of his own weapon flying through the air towards him.

As Eternal finally turned back around, she saw the javelin hit the ledge underneath Sportsmaster, and the look on his face before he went up in a plume of fire and smoke.

Red Arrow knew that if he had blinked, he would have missed it- but something in the back of his mind told him he had seen a trick like that before.

The explosion of the javelin hitting the edge of the tower shook the building below him, causing the ghost of a suspicion to float away, and his instincts to kick into high gear as Eternal ran towards him, and tackled him yet again, just in time to push him out of the way of a large piece of flying debris that had come from the explosion.

"Wake up!" Eternal barked as she jumped off of him and the pulled him up roughly by his good arm, and began moving before Red Arrow had managed to regain his footing, causing him to stumble and rush to catch up to her. They were heading towards the end of the roof full speed, and Red Arrow nearly skidded to a stop until he noticed Eternal pulling out a black bundle of fabric from the small of her back that had been tucked underneath her kukri holster since they left the Cave.

"Eternal!" Red shouted as they came closer to the roof. Eternal suddenly skidded to a stop, threw the fabric over her shoulders, and as she turned around, slipped her arms through the sleeves. Eternal spun around - just in time to spot Sportsmaster running out of a plume of debris and smoke behind Red Arrow, and her white eye slits widened as she whipped a batch of throwing spikes out of from her sheath, and yelled.

"GET DOWN!" She screamed as she threw the spikes, each of them soaked in a sleeping agent that would keep a grown man out for two or three days. The spikes flew through the air one after another, narrowly missing Red Arrow's head as he fell to the ground- and one flew straight through his carefully groomed hair.

Sportsmaster deflected the first one with a swing of his flail, or 'hammer', but his swing was not fast enough to deflect the five other spikes coming towards him, and all of them hit him in the chest, and arm, lodging themselves deep into his flesh. Sportsmaster gave a quiet sound of discomfort, but did not stop moving forward, or give any indication that he was about to fall asleep as he should have, and Eternal reached back to her kukris, and pulled them out once more. Red Arrow scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could towards Eternal, shooting off arrows from his crossbow as he ran every few feet.

Eternal rose up her silver armaments, and then sprinted forwards, straight towards Sportsmaster and Red Arrow. Red tried to stop in time to get out of Eternal's way, but ended up falling to his knees just in time for Eternal to jump over him. Red Arrow leaned back and watched the girl fly over him as he skidded forward, the guards on his knees and shins thankfully protecting his skin and providing a smooth slide. Eternal flew through the air above him as a silhouette in the moonlight, her left leg pointed forward and the right tucked in with perfect execution. Her left leg then twisted in the air, and her right leg came swinging about, giving her the large amount of force she needed to deliver a knockout blow to Sportsmaster. Red Arrow flattened himself against the roof as he continued to slide a few more feet, and rolled onto his stomach, allowing him to take aim at Sportsmaster with his crossbow and aid Eternal.

Sportsmaster was beginning to feel the side effects of Eternal's sleeping agent, and was slow to react to Eternal's kick- which meant her foot collided with his face, causing a sickening _crack _to fly through the air, and Sportsmaster to stumble back several feet as Eternal gracefully landed on her feet, her back to Sportsmaster, and then swing about once more with her right leg extended, and blow his feet out from underneath him.

But Sportsmaster did not fall to the ground.

He caught himself quickly, a moment of clarity in the midst of unconsciousness threatening his senses allowed him to put his hands out, and he pushed himself off of the ground, and straight at Eternal- who was already expecting him, and immediately began to attack, not allowing Sportsmaster a moment to recover.

When Sportsmaster's fist came flying though the air towards her, she leaned to the side once more, and with her kukris still in hand, she snatched his wrist in an iron grip, and then turned her back towards him, and pressed herself against him, then leaned forwards. Sportsmaster flew over Eternal's back like a ragdoll, and slammed to the roof top, causing dust and dirt to fly up in a small cloud around him.

But Sportsmaster didn't stay down long. He jumped back to his feet- just in time for an arrow to wiz past his face- and with alarming grace, he caught it in his massive hand, and then turned around with amazing speed.

Eternal's eyes saw the arrow, but she couldn't block it fast enough, and Sportsmaster thrust it into her shoulder, causing her to cry out, and reach for it.

Sportsmaster took the opportunity to deliver a hard blow to Eternal's face- causing her to stumble back, and spit out a mouthful of blood she had received when she bit her tongue.

Sportsmaster stopped to bask in the feat, and crossed his arms over his chest as the two heroes watched him, Red Arrow with shock and anger, and Eternal with such a look of rage that even she wasn't aware that she had possessed.

Eternal suddenly reached towards the arrow, and with a straight face, wrapped her fingers around it- and then pulled it straight out without an ounce of pain evident on her face. Sportsmaster's eyebrows shot up, and Red Arrow's eyes nearly jumped out of his skull as Eternal tossed the projectile to the ground, and stood up straight once again.

"I've been too nice, I guess." Eternal sighed as she reached down, and picked up her fallen kukri off of the rooftop, her masked eyes hidden in shadow. Sportsmaster felt something he had not felt in a very long time as he watched the girl pick up her weapons; the rage she was feeling was rolling off of her in tsunamis, and the shiver finally ran up his spine, causing the muscles I his back to tense.

_Fear._

Red Arrow couldn't help but feel it too as Eternal finally looked up, her eyes narrow, her face stern, and the small trail of blood coming from the corner of her lip didn't help her fear-provoking demeanor.

"You can _forget_ about _mercy_ now, _Crock._" Eternal spat as she raised up her weapons, and then suddenly, without any warning, sprinted forward screaming like an animal.

Sportsmaster couldn't react- she knew his name, and she knew how to scare him- plus the agents now beginning to take over.

He was down in a matter of seconds, and unconscious before he even hit the rooftop.

Eternal and Red Arrow stood there for a total of ten seconds before Eternal walked over to him, and held her hand out to him, her expression still stoic as he looked up at it.

"Time to go." She said softly over the sound of crackling wood from the fire the explosion had created. Red gave a soft, barely noticeable nod, and accepted her hand. She pulled him up from the roof, and then quickly assembled her glider, and loosened her holster so that Red could hang on.

The two flew off of the roof, and glided all the way back to the tree line of the woods- and disappeared in the night along with the vials, and two suspicious encrypted files.

-0-

**I totally understand if you guys hate my guts. I took FOREVER writing this chapter, and I have no idea why. **

**Writers block? Computer problems? Pure laziness? I don't know. But I apologize. And I'm not even happy with the finished product. **

**ALSKJFD;LAKSJFD;L KG UGH. **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Eternal didn't wince once as Black Canary stitched up her wound in the infirmary- while on the other side of the flimsy curtain, she could hear Red Arrow hiss every single time Red Tornado tugged at the stitching to tighten it. While Canary was precise, and gentle, Eternal would have preferred a healer that _didn't _speak so much. Canary constantly asked questions, then criticized their performance during the mission, and then congratulated them on retrieving the vials successfully- and then returned to how they could have almost gotten themselves killed.

Over and over again, Eternal rolled her eyes, and was tempted to kick Black Canary across the room.

She had been hit for the very first time that night- thank god her pain tolerance had been raised to the point of nearly superhuman during her… _training…_but never once had she been hit like this. Maybe a punch there, or a kick every now and then- but an _arrow_?

Never.

The sound of sheets rustling and needles being dropped into sanitary metal pans brought her out of her brooding, and her blue eyes darted towards it. She nearly growled when she spotted Red Arrow being dismissed by Red Tornado- who of course had completed stitching him up before Canary, who was only just now halfway through with her wound.

"You'll be done soon enough, Etty." Canary scolded when she noticed Eternal glaring at Red Arrow as he thanked Red Tornado.

Eternal's eyes turned towards Canary and glared at her. Canary just sighed, and rolled her eyes at the teenager. She had been huffing and puffing since Batman had handed the two over to Red Tornado and Black Canary, and the last thing she wanted was to be treated. She had demanded that she speak to Batman first- and even began to defy Batman's orders until Black Canary snatched her arm, and practically dragged the girl to the infirmary.

"You've said that twice now." Eternal growled as the turned away from Canary once more. Black Canary narrowed her eyes, and then glanced up at the girl, and then back down at her stitching. Ten stitches so far, maybe five or six more to go.

"Maybe if you wouldn't fidget so much, I would be done by now." Canary sighed as she made another stitch, and then eyed the wound.

_Maybe just five more._

"Four more stitches, then you're done." Eternal snipped as Canary began once more. She paused to shoot a glare at the girl, and then continued working on the wound.

"You've never acted like this before, Eternal." Canary said with a slightly concerned tone to her voice. "Is there something wrong?" She finished the fourth stitch, and then secured the thread. Eternal jumped off of the bed before Canary could do anything else, and took long strides towards the door.

Eternal paused at the words, and looked back at Canary, who was still holding the needle and thread in her hand. The dark purple bruise was now obvious on her face, and it made her look terrifying.

"Nothing that concerns _you._" She snarled before walking towards the sliding door, and leaving the room, leaving Canary to stare at the where Eternal had been standing in shock.

-0-

"That doesn't concern you, Arrow." Batman groveled for the tenth time since Red Arrow had made a beeline to the briefing room. Red growled once more, and threw his arms out to his sides.

"If I'm going to be working with her, shouldn't I know her background? What if she's dangerous? What if she's a liability to the team?" He hissed at Batman. Batman finally shot him the infamous bat-glare, and Red Arrow took a step back, and lowered his arms.

"So what you're saying is that the Team should know your past as well?" Batman questioned as he glared at Red, who glared right back at the question.

"No!" He almost sounded like a whining child, and resisted the urge to stomp his foot. "Half of the Team already knows that I'm trustworthy! I have a solid past!" Red spat as the Dark Knight narrowed his eyes. The poor young man was obviously not about to quit.

"Because you trusted them with that information- they didn't_ demand_ that their superiors divulge every bit of information about you." Batman replied coolly, causing Red Arrow to glance away, and then back at the Bat. Now he knew he was wrong.

Red Arrow thought for a while, and Batman turned around back towards the holographic computer to continue cataloguing the mission that Red Arrow and Eternal had just completed. The Team was still in Byhalia tending to matters concerning Queen Bee.

"How did she know the codes to deactivate Luthor's security measures?" Red suddenly asked, causing the Dark Knight to glare at the screen in front of him.

Batman turned around slowly, his glare intact, and still just as effective as before.

"Eternal worked covert-ops missions for a living. Luthor happened to be her target more than once, and her eidetic memory allowed her to retain all of the codes she witnessed Luthor, _and _his attorney, used." He narrowed his eyes again at Red Arrow as if in warning. "End of discussion." He snapped before turning back to the computer, and returning to his typing. Red Arrow glared at the Bat's back, and huffed.

"I don't buy that. She knew Mercy and Sportsmaster _far_ too well." Red Arrow snarled. Batman's hands suddenly stopped typing again, and he glared once again. Red Arrow continued. "I think she's a mole, Batman. She knows too much for her to even _possibly _be safe for the Team. She could get them killed." He explained his reasoning, and then watched as Batman reached back for the keyboard again.

After a few moments of watching him type, Red Arrow believed he had convinced the Dark Knight that Eternal was a traitor, and allowed a small smirk to grow on his face- but that smirk was wiped away when Batman began to speak again.

"I _personally_ tracked down Eternal with Green Arrow _and_ Black Canary, and _all of us _can vouch for Eternal- even if one of her own comrades does not believe that she has good intentions." He growled as if Red Arrow had hit a sore spot- which in truth, he had. Eternal was the first budding villain he had turned to their side, and he was very secretly proud of that fact. "When Eternal believes you, and her teammates are trustworthy enough, she will reveal that past to you- but for now, you have no right, and zero authorization to look into her past, question anyone, or by any means threaten Eternal's right to be on this team. _Do you understand_?" He snarled as Red Arrow felt himself cower under the Bat.

Red pasted a glare on his face, but still nodded at Batman. Batman turned to glare at him for a moment, and then turned away towards the computer once more.

"You are dismissed." He said curtly as he began to type once more, leaving Red Arrow to stand there and glare at his back.

Red gave a quiet huff, and turned towards the Zeta tubes to leave. Red Arrow was gone in a flash of light in a matter of seconds, and Batman stopped his typing once more.

"You can come out now." He spoke in his deep, commanding voice as he eyed the screen before him. He was watching the playback from the feed on Eternal's mask, and analyzing what went wrong.

Eternal walked out of the shadows, her uniform still unzipped and hanging around her waist, and a black tank top.

"Is the Team back yet?" She asked as she walked forward. Batman shook his head, and Eternal gave a relieved sigh as she reached to take off her gloves. Batman turned to watch the girl as she pulled the ring that concealed her true identity off of her finger, and her features changed completely. Her hair turned jet black starting from her roots then to the tips, her skin paled, the light freckles disappeared, and her eyes faded from their bright blue to their starry gray.

She sighed, and placed the ring in her utility belt carefully before reaching to look at her hair, and giving a small smile.

"I'm starting to forget what I really look like, Bats." She confessed as she walked forward, and stood next to him, turning her eyes towards the paused feed that he had been watching. Batman gave a discreet smirk, and turned back to the screen as well.

"You've got a good eye." Batman complimented, causing Eternal to give a small smirk.

When he didn't say anything else, Eternal's eyebrow rose in suspicion, and she looked up at Batman, who was significantly taller than her, and narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"…but?" She asked, causing Batman to look down at her. He should have known she could tell what was coming.

"But… you're not very good at watching out for your comrades." He said, causing Eternal to huff quietly, and turn back at to the screen. She watched as the computer analyzed her attacks, pausing every few seconds or so to point out weak spots on Mercy's frame, and rarely did it ever point out any errors on Eternal's- or now, human Mercy's side of the fight.

Until, that is, the moment she left Red Arrow wide open, and Mercy's disks went flying towards him. She was too far from her partner; she was not paying attention to both sides of the fight. Red Arrow was too far from Eternal, and he was aiming for the strongest point on Mercy's skull.

So many errors in just a span of three whole seconds it made Mercy sick. Batman reached forward, and stopped the feed.

"You will be sent on patrols with Black Canary in your spare time, on days Black Canary has League business to attend to, you will go on patrol with Robin in Gotham _until _your weakness in team combat improves significantly." Batman announced as Mercy gave a deep frown.

_There goes my time with Roy._ She thought sadly. _That just means I'll have to work quickly._

"I trust you will fix this as soon as possible. But for now, I have a question for you." He reached forward, and Mercy looked towards the screen to watch as everything began to move backwards, the two of them moving back into the lab backwards down the stairs, backwards past Mercy's mother, past the fridge with the thumbprint scanner, and all the way back to the computer screen.

He stopped it when Eternal's eyes stumbled upon the two files with her name, and her mother's name on them, and paused it.

Mercy did not fidget, and did not look towards Batman. She knew it was against protocol, but she needed to know, and that was good enough for her.

"I'm going to need copies of these." He stated, pointing at the two files Eternal was gazing at on the screen. Mercy suddenly looked up at Batman, her face obviously displaying surprise, and her mouth fell open slightly.

"…you what?" She asked as she leaned forward slightly as if she were trying to hear him better.

Batman's expression did not change.

"I need copies of those files." He repeated. Mercy blinked a few times before clearing her throat, and looking towards the computer. She still hadn't gotten the chance to decrypt them, and there was no hope of copying them to another computer until she did.

"I still haven't decrypted them. I only got through two layers before I had to move on." She said, hoping that he would leave the files with her so that she could decrypt them himself. The Dark Knight seemed to debate for a moment, and then he reached forward, and opened a program on the computer.

"You have until dawn to decrypt them, and get the files to me. If I do not receive them by daybreak, I will come back, and I will remove them from your possession, _permanently." _He threatened as Eternal reached into her utility belt, and pulled out the flash drive. She nodded, and plugged the flash drive into the computer on her arm.

"Understood. Thank you, Bats." She said with a smirk before swiping the files on to the computer screen before her, and then walking forward to begin her work.

Batman glared at the mention of the nickname, but did not say anything about it as he turned around with a swish of his cape, and walked towards the Zeta tubes.

"And Mercy," He said as he began to type in his designation. Mercy turned around and looked at him with an eyebrow raised and her gray eyes wide. "Don't forget to put your ring back on by sunrise. The team should be back by then." Mercy nodded, and gave Batman a small wave.

"Yes sir." She chirped before turning back around, and beginning her work on decrypting the files as a certain archer climbed into bed thousands of miles away and pondered on the possibility of seeing Mercy the next day.

-0-

Roy Harper woke up the next afternoon with an aching arm and less than chipper attitude. When his alarm went off for the tenth time that day, he finally slammed his fist down on it, and it broke into several pieces. When he heard the alarm finally fall to the floor in pieces, he opened his eyes slightly, and groaned.

_Alarm clock number three. _He though as he squeezed his eyes shut, and then forced them back open as sunlight spilled into his room through the large window across the room, and onto his bed. _This month…_

"Damn it." He muttered as he rubbed his eyes, and sat up in bed. After a moment of staring at the broken clock on the floor, he looked towards the window with his tired blue eyes, and squinted at the bright light. It had to be at least two in the afternoon already, and by the sound of the heavy traffic thirteen stories below, it was a busy day in Star City.

Roy sighed, and then stood slowly, taking his time to stretch and give a long yawn before padding over to his bathroom to shower.

As the water warmed up, Roy took a look at his arm in the mirror, and grimaced as he removed the bandage Red Tornado had carefully wrapped around it. There was a spot of blood or two, but nothing serious. The wound looked clean, but he went ahead and dabbed a little bit of alcohol on it anyway, just to be safe.

He thought about Eternal's injuries, and thanked no one in particular that his injuries were easily concealed- but the massive dark purple and yellow bruise on Eternal's face would probably be there for several days, maybe even a week or two, and even with the best makeup a girl could possibly buy, he imagined it would be difficult to go into public with a giant bruise while Roy could just throw on a jacket and no one would know.

Roy threw away the dirty bandage and the cotton swab, and then hopped into the shower. It took him a grand total of fifteen minutes to finish his shower, exit, and carefully groom his hair before exiting the bathroom and getting dressed for the day.

He plucked his phone off of the kitchen counter as he walked briskly towards the fridge, and pulled it open to eye the its contents.

His eyes settled on the bottle of orange juice, and rested there for a moment.

"To call Mercy… or to not call Mercy…" He whispered to himself as he eyed the bottle, and then looked down at the phone in his hand. He had just seen her the other day, but he already missed the raven haired girl with an uppercut that could even break Batman's nose.

No, not today. There were too many questions that he needed answered today. Too many things to do to worry about covering up his tracks to keep Mercy unaware of his identity. Too many things to do.

He pocketed the cell phone with a frown, and pulled out the orange juice with a slight sigh, and walked over to the counter to pour himself a glass, and with the other hand, carefully reached for the television remote, and pressed the power button. As the tv began to turn on, he turned around, placed the orange juice back in the fridge, and then turned back around to pick up the glass and take a sip.

"_We have some bad news for the single ladies of Star City today who've got eyes for the heir to Queen Industries and billionaire playboy, Roy Harper—because it seems like he's got eyes for someone else these days." _Roy nearly spat out his drink when he looked up at the screen, and saw a video of himself and Mercy eating dinner at Mistral. The video was obviously shot from a hidden camera, because the film was grainy and would occasionally glitch- but it still infuriated Roy. He had wanted to keep Mercy hidden for a while before thrusting her into the spotlight with him.

"_The couple had dinner together a week ago at the five star restaurant Mistral, and then continued their date well into the night with a midnight stroll through the park-" _Video of Mercy and Roy walking through the park came onto the screen next to the bottle blonde reporter's head, and Roy slapped his forehead with his palm.

"Great…" He sighed as the news reel continued to spill more of his personal affairs to the world.

"_But will this relationship continue after yesterday's incident concerning Roy Harper's new girlfriend and one of our reporters?" _A video of Mercy punching the camera after breakfast the other day began to play on loop, and Roy _finally _spat out his drink after he peeked through his fingers to cringe at the video.

"_I do have to admit though; girl's got a great swing, Stephanie."_ The male reporter sitting next to the female reporter, apparently named Stephanie, laughed as Roy continued to watch through his fingers. Stephanie gave an obviously fake laugh, and said something about how right her fellow reporter was as the video played over and over, and a photo of Mercy in mid-punch, her fist directed at the camera, was shown on screen. Roy could see his own stunned expression in the far top corner of the picture, but he couldn't focus on that as his hands covered his face once more, and he groaned loudly.

_So much for keeping this quiet._

-0-

"_Mother of Batman_."

Roy swore over and over as he tried to escape the mob of paparazzi that had surrounded his cherry red convertible as soon as the parking garage doors had rolled open. They screamed and yelled their questions at him as he tried to crane his neck out to see into the street- resisting the powerful urge to do the same as Mercy had, and punch every single camera flashing at him in the lenses.

"Roy! Can you confirm-"

"Roy! Roy Harper!"

"Roy! Is it true that your girlfriend is-" Roy finally was finally able to see into the street through a gap in the reporters, and nearly peeled out of the mob of reporters, leaving them to cough at the smell of burning rubber. Roy looked up into the rearview mirror, and smirked at the coughing reporters as he drove down the street, and then took a sharp right towards Queen Enterprises. He knew Oliver would want to talk to him after that news reel that morning, and Roy wanted to talk to him about a particular member of the Team that played on his nerves.

Soon enough, he was being waved into the secure parking garage by a security guard, and found a spot right next to the elevator. Maybe everything would go smoothly today, maybe not, but either way, he hoped that Oliver would give him _something _to work with. If Eternal was bad news for the team, then the Team deserved to know, even if Batman said otherwise.

_Oliver would tell me these things because he trusts me…right?_ His small smirk fell to a frown at the thought. He did storm out of the Hall of Justice; but Ollie and Dinah still took the time to check up on him, and they would go on patrols together every now and then; but, alas, you could still be family to someone and not be trusted.

The elevator dinged loudly, and Roy nearly jumped at the sound, and his gaze averted upwards towards the display in front of him. It read: "GRAND ENTRYWAY", and the doors slid open. He stood there for a moment, eying the Grand Entryway that truly lived up to its name. Oliver had made sure that it would cause jaws to drop and eyes to gaze in awe as soon as he was named CEO of Queen Enterprises, and he certainly had succeeded.

As Roy made his way out of the elevator, he heard the small screen return to its video about the history of Queen Enterprises and their goals on repeat, and then the doors closed, silencing the smooth voice of the female narrator. Roy gazed at the Grand Entryway, and smirked again. He loved coming to visit Ollie at work because when he walked in the Entryway, no one crowded him or called out his name, he was greeted with friendly nods and an occasional polite hello or a shake of the hand, and a comment about how he hadn't been seen around here in a while. And strangely enough, the sounds of cell phones ringing and the voices of business men swooning clients into business deals and heels clacking against the marble floor were comforting because it was so… _ordinary._

Roy finally realized he had been standing there for a while, just gazing about the Grand Entryway, and began to put one foot in front of another, his hands taking their place in the jacket pockets of Roy's expensive jacket. A few nods came from a few men and woman making their way to the elevators, and Roy returned them courteously, and continued on as they passed him by.

Roy finally reached one of the elevators, and pressed the button that would take him to the top floor. This particular elevator was somewhat empty except for a few Queen employees talking on their phone or sending out emails from their tablets. They all knew who he was, but respected his space, and left him alone as one by one, they left the elevator as it rose, and after a while, Roy was left on his own to raise up three floors before he got to Ollie's office.

The elevator doors slid open, and revealed to him the hallway of offices, and an exquisite sign with carefully made stone letters with all of the head of departments names and positions on it next to the glass doors. Oliver Queen's name was at the very top in golden letters with the title of CEO next to it. Roy walked forward, and pushed the glass doors open .

Secretaries and business men always seemed to be rushing back and forth through the halls of this part of the building, especially since Oliver always seemed to want to make last minute changes to everything, which meant every department would have to go back, always around three days before their deadlines, and change _everything_- but of course, it was never for nothing, and the projects would become a huge success in the long run.

Roy carefully maneuvered himself through the halls, occasionally waving at the men and woman who raised up a hand and waved at him as he walked past their glass-walled offices as they talked on their phones or spoke to their secretaries, who always seemed to be carrying a teetering stack of papers and letters.

Roy finally made it to Oliver's office, and greeted his secretary with a smile, and she returned it eagerly.

"Hey Roy, he's taking an important call right now, but you can go ahead. Just be sneaky." She gave him a friendly wink, and Roy chuckled.

"Sneaky is my specialty, Rose." He quipped as he walked towards the doors, and turned the knob quietly. Oliver's office was the only one without glass walls or a window on his door- and for good reason.

Roy slipped into the office and quietly walked over to the leather seat in front of Ollie's giant wooden desk, and watched as his guardian and mentor leaned back in his chair casually and propped his feet up on the smaller desk behind him as he gazed out the window, occasionally nodding and giving the appropriate response before he finally turned around, and noticed Roy watching him from the leather seat, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Wayne." He paused and listened to Mr. Wayne as Roy began to eye the office around him. "Ah, yes. Of course I'll be seeing you at the Gala." Oliver looked up at Roy, who was gazing about the office, for a moment, and then smirked. "Yes, he's right here."

Roy's eyes darted towards Oliver, who was smirking at him, and narrowed slightly in suspicion.

"Of course, I'm sure he'd love to go to the Gala. And he'll bring his lovely girlfriend too." Oliver smirked as Roy frowned deeply and his brow furrowed. "Yes, yes, have a wonderful day Bruce. Bye-bye."

He then pressed a button, and his secretary's voice came through, but Roy couldn't hear.

"Rose, hold my calls for a while would you?" He paused, and then laughed lightly at something Rose said. "Thanks sweetheart."

Oliver finally hung up the phone, and Roy crossed his arms in his seat as his Guardian leaned forwards, and smiled. Roy knew what was coming next.

"So, when were you going to tell me about this girl?" Oliver questioned as he interlaced his fingers and placed them under his chin. Roy thought he looked like a gossiping school-girl. Roy kept his arms crossed and gave a huff.

"We've only gone out twice. It's not even official yet and the media has probably got her running away from Star City as we speak." Roy almost growled out the words as he thought of the videos playing on repeat on the news. The one of Mercy punching the paparazzi was probably the worst, and the one that concerned him the most.

"What's her name?" Oliver asked as he finally leaned back in his chair, his arms now resting on the arms of the chair as he leaned back and propped his feet on the desk. Roy finally uncrossed his arms, and leaned forward, and placed his elbows on his knees. He suddenly looked up at Oliver, who was still smirking, and mirrored him, causing Oliver to suddenly frown.

Oliver suddenly threw up his hands and his chin towards the ceiling.

"Oh come on! I'll find out soon enough, Roy. Just give it up!" Oliver practically shouted, his voice hinted with laughter as he looked back at Roy, who was now smiling at Ollie. Ollie, with his hands on the desk again, smiled at his adopted son, and gave a small chuckle. The room was silent for a minute, and then Oliver chuckled again, causing Roy to raise an eyebrow at him.

"You've got it _bad, _kid." Oliver said to Roy. Roy only smirked, and stayed quiet. He could just tell. Roy gave a childish shrug, and Ollie laughed.

"So tell me _something,_ kid. You can't talk to family?" He teased as Roy finally looked up from the floor, and up at his adopted father with a sparkle in his eyes. Talking about Mercy made him feel like he was on cloud nine and the only person he had spoken to about it was the child, Daniel, who had promptly demanded a brownie in return for giving Mercy a letter.

"She's gorgeous, obviously." Roy said first, causing Oliver to grin at him.

"So I saw," Ollie commented, causing Roy to laugh quietly. "She sure can hit, too, from what I could actually see. You'd think reporters would use better quality cameras." Roy suddenly pointed at Oliver playfully, and he smiled wide.

"I _did not _know she was going to do that, but I'm impressed. It's nice to see a girl who's willing to voice- and act on- how she feels." Roy sounded like a romantic school-boy now, and Oliver couldn't help but smirk at him in delight. It was relieving to see Roy unwind since he had been so caught up in going solo lately, and his serious nature would become tiring after a while.

"She speaks German, some French. She can talk about _anything_; cars, politics, you name it, she knows all about it. She graduated early from school, top of her class, has scholarship offers to every school you could dream of and she says she's holding off on it because she wants to live without stress for a little while- which I can certainly understand. Did I mention she was born in Germany? Her Mom…" Roy rambled on and on about his 'mysterious' new girlfriend to Oliver, who smiled like a proud father should when he hears about his son finding the girl of his dreams, and allowed him to go on for another half an hour, with an occasional question from Oliver, which Roy would answer promptly.

When Roy finally realized he had gone into a long-winded version of everything Mercy had told him about herself, he clamped his mouth shut, and leaned back in the chair again, his arms crossed over his chest. Ollie frowned, and sighed. Un-wound Roy was gone now, and wound-up Roy was back.

"But, that's not what I came here for. Great job distracting me by the way." Roy commented. Oliver just shrugged and rolled his eyes. He didn't bother to mention that he didn't even have to distract Roy, because he did that all on his own.

"I'm here to ask you about _Etty_." He emphasized her name, and Oliver suddenly frowned at his protégée, and a stern look came to his usually playful eyes. Before Roy could continue, Oliver held up a hand, and shook his head.

"I'm going to stop you there, Roy." Oliver's voice sounded stern, and Roy knew that Oliver only got serious when Roy was going too far, or was about to go too far. "I've got strict orders to not breathe a word about _Etty _to you. This girl has saved your ass twice now, and you're still convinced that she's bad news. Why are you so suspicious of someone who possibly saved your _life_?" Oliver's question sounded exasperated, and Roy felt a small twinge of guilt in his chest.

Roy hesitated, but he knew what he wanted to say.

"Because there's no way you could just _know _security codes to a villain's manor just from observation. Or just _know _exactly how to trick an assassin. I'm suspicious because she _is _suspicious_. _I'm surprised the rest of the team isn't too!" He practically spat. Oliver glared at Roy, who he thought was being preposterous, and then the phone on his desk chirped obnoxiously, and Rose's voice came through the line.

"Um… sir, Clark Kent is here for that statement you promised him about the new scholarship program? He says you told him he could drop in any time." Oliver sighed, rubbed his eyes, and then picked up the phone.

"I'll be right out Rose." Oliver said quickly before hanging up and standing. Roy watching him as he began to walk away, and the turn around to point at him, Roy turned his head slightly and narrowed his eyes a little.

"Don't. Touch. Anything." Oliver warned lightly before shaking his finger slightly and trying to glare. Roy's widened his eyes a little, and then gave a slow nod. Oliver shook his finger one last time, and then turned around, and briskly walked towards the door. Before opening it, he tugged at the bottom of his suit jacket, huffed quietly, and then swung the door open as he plastered a smile on his face.

Roy heard him greet Kent, and that was all after he closed the door behind him. Roy eyed the door for a moment, and then looked back towards Oliver's desk.

As if it had screamed at him, the tablet on the desk caught his eye right away, and his eyes narrowed at it. It was still unlocked. If he hurried, he could touch it, and keep it open.

He recognized it as the tablet Batman had designed for the more seasoned members of the Justice League. It was supposed to be used for 'business' matters only, but Oliver always used it at work because it worked better than any of the tablets you could buy with all the money he had.

He watched it, and watched it, and then finally the screen began to fade.

His hand darted forward so fast that even the Flash would have been impressed, and the screen lit back up to full brightness, and his feet began to make their way around the desk before he could stop himself.

"Sorry, Ollie." Roy whispered to himself as he began to swipe through the tablet, his eyes glancing up towards the door every now and then. He finally spotted a file that caught his eye, and he hesitated.

"_Project Eternal-CLASSIFIED"._

He released a breath of air, and then quickly pressed it. It promptly opened, as if Oliver had lazily saved the password, and Eternal's picture came onto the screen.

He dark red hair and her blue eyes were the first thing he saw, and then the picture next to it was a photo of her in costume that looked like it had been taken during a mission briefing. Her arms were crossed, and her expression serious underneath her mask. Her red hair was in its traditional single braid and was hanging over her shoulder as she glared at something off camera.

Red quickly read her physical profile, information that he already knew, and swiped downward to read further into Eternal's file.

It said the exact same thing Batman had told him all along. She had been an undercover agent for hire since she was very young, and was frequently hired by anonymous sources to keep an eye on Lex Luthor, or gather intel from his very home. Everything he had been told was confirmed on this file.

Roy scowled at the tablet, and quickly closed out of it. It had to be a ploy. There was no way that Eternal had just 'figured out' how to throw knives like that, or fight if she just 'gathered intelligence'. Roy's sensitive ears pricked at the sound of Oliver's voice.

"_I'll be seeing you around, Clark! We should have lunch sometime!" _Oliver said through the door as Roy exited the file, and locked the tablet. The doorknob turned, and Roy quickly, but quietly ran around the desk as the door cracked open.

Just as Roy's back hit the leather chair, the door opened, and Oliver stepped foot back inside of his office.

He closed the door slowly as he eyed the office, and then looked at Roy, who sent him a blank look.

"What did you touch?" Oliver asked with a tone of suspicion. Roy furrowed his eyebrows.

"I didn't touch anything." Roy said curtly as he stood. Oliver's face softened and he sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Look, Roy. I'm sorry. You've just been so wound up since the thing at the Hall, and especially since Night got away-" Roy huffed loudly at that, and Oliver waited for a moment to speak again. "But you need to relax a little. You're wound so tight that one day you're just going to snap yourself in half from the pressure."

Roy glared at Oliver, and then without warning walked towards the Oliver, made his way around him, and then pulled open the door.

Without another word, Roy walked out of the office, leaving Oliver to slowly turn around, and stare at the agape door with a crestfallen look on his face.

As Roy made his way to the elevator, and just as the doors closed, his phone began to ring in his pocket. He tried to ignore it by closing his eyes as the elevator descended, but after a few more seconds, he sighed. It could be Mercy.

He pulled the phone out of his pocket with a sigh, and answered the call without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" He said, surprised at how dull his own voice sounded.

"There's an intruder in the cave. She won't give us her name, but she's asking for you." Robin said from the other end of the phone. Roy's blood chilled.

"Does she know?" He was referring to his secret identity. Robin shook his head, but took a moment to glance at the intruder. She was staring directly at him.

"No." He answered quietly as he turned his back on the girl. Something about her was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. And the Boy Wonder could put his goddamn finger on everything. It was driving him crazy. "At least, I don't think so."

Roy looked forwards as the elevators door to the Grand Entryway. His blue eyes suddenly appeared fearsome as he walked out of the elevator, and walked as fast as he could to the elevators leading to the parking garage.

He was silent for a moment as he punched the button that would take him to the garage.

"I'm on my way."

-0-

**TAH DAH I updated pretty quick, eh?**

…**yeah not so much. Spare a review?**

**But even though I don't really deserve them for making you guys wait so long for the last chapter. **

**BUT I UPDATED. IT COUNTS RIGHT?**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

_How in fucks sake did you get yourself into this mess, Mercy? You're better than that. _She thought as she gazed around at her fellow teammates- all of which, were pointing weapons, or glaring viciously at her. _Ah. Right. I can't kill them. What I'm best at. _She began to look around, bored, and her eyes wandered about the briefing room as she began to whistle a familiar tune.

"Raindrops." Robin said from the far corner of the room. Her eyes turned to him slowly as she continued to whistle. Her eyes looked wide and curious, gray and delighted. She didn't look perturbed in the slightest to be captured by the Team. Her own file up on the screen for them all to see, along with her Mother's, but her name seemed to be missing. "Nice." He commented as he continued to watch Mercy with an unreadable expression. But she could still see the hint of the ever-playful Robin in there. He wasn't as difficult to read as everyone thought.

She stopped whistling, and sighed loudly, almost obnoxiously, which caused the team to tense slightly. She was too relaxed for their liking.

Mercy jiggled the sad excuse for restraints Robin had placed on her, and they clacked obnoxiously.

"Don't even try it." Artemis growled as she jerked her arrow at Mercy. Mercy glanced over at Artemis, and smirked. She obviously didn't remember her.

Mercy gave a curt laugh, and Artemis glared even harder.

"You don't remember me, Arty? I'm sure Mr.and Mrs. _Crock _would be disappointed." Mercy's tone conveyed playfulness, but the words she spoke were nothing less than a pure threat. Artemis's eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed again. Artemis suddenly charged forwards, and pointed the arrow directly at Mercy's forehead.

Her teammates protested with screams and shouts, but her aim did not waiver as she threatened Mercy's life. Mercy just smiled, and giggled at Artemis's short temper.

"Oh, dear. Have I hit a sore spot?" Mercy continued to hold her cheerful tone, and she smiled wider. Robin thought she would begin to look like the Joker if she smiled any wider. Mercy slowly began to lean forwards towards the arrow.

Soon enough, she was leaning her forehead against it, her smile intact, and her eyes still cheery.

"You can't fire at point blank now can you, Arty?" Mercy said in a sing song voice. Artemis growled, and then with a swift movement, she pulled her weapon away from Mercy's forehead, and stormed away from the scene, and towards the common area, away from Mercy.

_Perfect._ Mercy thought to herself as she smirked, and leaned back again, still _obnoxiously _relaxed. Robin narrowed his eyes at her from the corner of the room he was standing in, and watched her carefully.

"You know," Mercy was gazing around the Cave again. They _all _narrowed their eyes at her this time. "You guys should really consider redecorating, it's quite-"She stopped speaking when the Zeta tubes announced a new arrival.

"_Authorizing, Batman A-0-2, Black Canary A-1-3." _ Before anyone could move a muscle to greet their superiors, Batman strode forwards with a presence that frightened them all, even Robin, who was used to Batman's fearsome nature. Everyone, except Mercy, cowered in his wake as he parted the group before them, and approached Mercy, who greeted him with a broad smile.

"Hey, Bats. Mind letting me out?" She chirped, as she shook her hands behind her, causing the restraints to clack repulsively again. Batman narrowed his eyes at her, and gave a soft growl.

"I _told you_ to put your ring back on before the team returned." He snarled as he glared down at Mercy, who continued to smile at him like they were good friends. Robin's eyebrows shot up, and the rest of the team began to look unsettled.

"I was reading. Got caught up in all of the wonderful things Luthor had to say about my Mommy and me." She sighed as she began to stand. The Team rose up their weapons, and Black Canary held out a hand at them.

"Stand down." She ordered, her tone almost as stern as Batman's. The Team stared at her bewildered, but they did she ordered, but slowly, unsure of why their leaders were acting so strangely.

"Your identity?" Batman questioned Mercy, as she made her way up to a standing position, only keeping her hands behind her back to settle the nervous Team.

"Secure. For now. I managed to delete the names off of the files before they 'restrained' me." She made quotation marks with her fingers behind her back, which Robin caught, and glared at.

"'_Restrained?'_" Robin sneered from the corner of the room. This remark earned him a strong Bat-glare. Robin became slightly more subdued, but his glare remained intact. He cleared his throat and looked away from his mentor.

Mercy smirked, and suddenly, the restrained clattered to the floor. The Team's eyes all grew at once, and Robin's jaw dropped as he took a few steps forwards. She slowly rose up her hands, and made the quotation marks again.

"_Restrained." _She taunted as she smirked at him, and then turned to face Batman. "Now, what were you saying?" She sighed. Batman glared at her.

"You should have been more careful, Eternal." Batman groveled as he walked past her towards the computers. Mercy rolled her eyes. They could see her real face now, so why should she continue being Eternal?

Kid Flash was the first to speak.

"Eternal? What?" He shouted as his jaw fell open.

Mercy glanced back at him and smirked as she reached towards her utility belt, and pulled out the little bird ring. Kid Flash's eyes followed her hand, and his eyes grew wide at the sight of the ring as she slipped it onto her finger, and her appearance changed before their eyes. Before they could say a word, she slipped it off, and placed it back in her belt.

"Courtesy of Zatara." She chirped. She certainly felt more comfortable in her own appearance, rather than the red headed Eternal. "Even though I appreciate the gift, I don't feel as… _comfortable_, in someone else's skin, so to speak." She finished as she turned back towards the computer with Batman.

"So who are you?" Superboy shouted. Black Canary shot a glare at him, but his fury did not waiver as Mercy, and Batman turned to him.

Mercy stared at him for a moment, and the rest of the room waited in silence. She then looked up at Batman, and raised an eyebrow. He shook his head.

_Not now._

Mercy looked back at Superboy, her expression now serious.

"I apologize. But I _can't_." Her voice sounded a bit regretful as she crossed her arms. Robin recognized her posture as a sign of defensiveness. "My safety _apparently _depends on it." She glanced up at Batman from the corner of her eye, and Batman glared at nothing in particular.

Black Canary stepped forward, and put a shoulder on Mercy's shoulder, causing her to look at her, but not move from her stance.

"Your safety _relies _on it, Eternal. You can't just depend on-"She stopped short, as if she was aware that what she would say could compromise Mercy. When she didn't finish her statement, the team all began to look suspicious once again.

Mercy ignored them though, and turned her back to them to look up at her file. Her crash code had caused the files to become corrupt, and random words all over the file were now blacked out, her name was permanently removed from the file, and all pictures had vanished. The file was now unreadable, even to her, and possibly even the Boy Wonder himself.

The fear and the ice began to creep back into Mercy's veins. Everything in that file could destroy her. Everything that file contained was key to her destruction; her weaknesses- although few, her fears as a child, now gone, but the knowledge of them were damaging.

She was grateful she had turned her back to the team, because if she hadn't, they would have seen her eyes fill with dread at the thought of who else might know her secrets. Her lips formed a thin line, and she closed her eyes as she felt Black Canary's gaze on her back.

"Eternal…" Canary began. Mercy didn't turn around, but she opened her eyes, and turned her head ever so slightly to the right. Canary did not continue with her sentence, but instead, sighed, and exchanged a look with Batman, silently telling him something the Team could not understand.

Batman then turned to the team, and they gazed at him with mixed expressions of confusion and agitation.

"You are all excused. Do not come back in here. Go home if you have to." He ordered as he narrowed his eyes at them all, daring them to protest against his orders. "None of this leaves the Team. Not a word. We will discuss this tomorrow."

They gazed at him for a moment longer, then exchanged looks at each other before slowly turning their backs on the three of them, and walking away. Robin, Wally, and Kaldur went towards the Zeta tubes, while Megan and Conner went to their rooms.

After the five of them cleared out, Mercy spoke.

"Artemis is in the common area, brooding. She knows my identity, but she hasn't put the pieces of the puzzle together yet. Red, on the other hand…" She stopped, and sighed loudly.

_So much for ever having a normal relationship_. She thought to herself desolately as she closed her eyes again, and then reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Red… needs to know. _Roy, _needs to know." She sighed quietly. Black Canary's eyes nearly popped out her their sockets, and Batman narrowed his eyes, and glared.

"How did you-?" Canary began, and Mercy cut her off by pointing at the corrupted file on the screen.

"His name is in there. Identity and all. Every other hero I've encountered has just been filed by their alias, but Red, his identity was right there. Right next to '_Red Arrow- SEE FILE FOR FURTHER DETAILS.'" _ She began to feel sick to her stomach. She covered her eyes with the hand that she had pinching her nose with, and squeezed her eyes shut. "He'll be here soon…"

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so… _exposed._

"No. Red Arrow cannot know your true identity. He already suspects you to be a mole as it is. But I'm leaving it to you, and Black Canary, to reveal your identity to Artemis, and inform her that she is _not _to reveal your identity to the rest of the team or anyone else." Batman said as he walked over to the panel in front of the Zeta beam transporter, and punched in a code to slow Red Arrow's arrival.

Just as Mercy turned around on her heel to protest, Batman turned around, and raised a hand.

"No buts just _do it_. This is for your safety, Mercy. We can't risk anything." Batman seemed… off, to Mercy. It made her feel even worse. Even Black Canary caught the off tone in his voice, and frowned at him, a concerned look in his eyes.

"And what are you going to do?" Canary asked as she walked up to Mercy, and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. Batman turned around, and walked towards the second Zeta tube, his midnight cape billowing behind him as he walked.

There was a moment where the three of them stood in a frigid silence as Batman stood in though, his eyes directed towards the two of them. And then, he spoke, his normal deep growl back.

"I'm going to find out whom, or _what _has been watching you." He growled before turning around, typing in his designation, a temporary override, and then leaving Black Canary and Mercy on their own.

After a moment, Canary removed her hand from Mercy's shoulder, and began walking towards the common area that Artemis was waiting in. Mercy didn't feel herself walking, but she was following Canary, her steps much louder than usual. She didn't care anymore. Nothing was right.

Mercy didn't realize that Black Canary was speaking until she finally noticed the dull droning noise in her ears. She was saying something about how Canary would do most of the talking and that Mercy should probably keep her distance because Artemis had things to hide as well, but none of it stuck.

When the door to the common area slid open, and Mercy's senses finally stood at attention. Her eyes were alert, now gazing about the room, and not at her feet, her ears pricked. Artemis's gaze lifted from her hands, and to the opened door. Megan and Conner were sitting with her, and both of them had looked up as well.

"M'gann, Connor, could you excuse us for a while?" Black Canary asked politely. Megan and Connor exchanged a look, and then looked towards Artemis, who continued to watch Mercy, her eyes narrowed as if daring her to come closer.

The couple slowly stood, and both of them glanced at Mercy as they left. Megan looked wary, while Connor shot her such a look of hatred and fury that she was tempted to wince, but did not give him the pleasure.

Once the two of them were gone, Black Canary motioned to Artemis.

"Come on." She said. Artemis finally looked away from Mercy, and glowered at Canary.

"Why can't we stay in here?" She snarled. Black Canary narrowed her eyes at Artemis, but then softened them. But before Canary could speak, Mercy stepped forward and spoke.

"Because there is a Kryptonian with super hearing and a Martian with the ability to read minds two rooms away, and the information we are about to disclose to you is too sensitive for others to know." She said sharply as she crossed her arms. Artemis sat up straight and glared harshly at Mercy.

"You have no right to-" Black Canary ended the argument before it escalated.

"_Enough._" Black Canary snarled as she held out her hands, one towards Mercy, and one towards Artemis. She then glanced at both of them, and then turned her head back at Artemis sharply, and pointed at her.

"You, come with us, _now. _That's an order." Artemis scowled, and took her sweet time getting off of the couch. She then turned to Mercy, whose arms were still crossed, and pointed at her.

"And you, keep your mouth _shut _until I tell you to. _Understand?" _Black Canary barked. Mercy felt rage boil up inside of her chest, and she narrowed her eyes at Canary, her glare coming dangerously close to being as intense as Batman's. Canary just glared back, and then turned on her heel, and led the two girls out of the room.

"We only have about fifteen minutes before Red Arrow gets here, and we cannot by any means allow him to see Eternal like this, or tell him what we are about to tell you, do you understand?" Canary asked Artemis. Artemis just grunted in response as Canary opened the door to the secure room, and allowed the girls to enter before her.

Artemis filed in first, and then Mercy. Artemis flopped down onto one of the comfy chairs, and Mercy opted to stand, her arms still crossed, and her eyes still steely and cold.

Canary locked the door, and then turned to a thumbprint scanner beside the door, and the door made a sudden hissing sound, and then a loud_ shunk, _as it sealed itself, making the sound absolutely soundproof, and impenetrable to telepathic abilities.

"Artemis, what is said-" Artemis interrupted Canary by raising her hand and speaking in a bored tone.

"Doesn't leave this room. Understood." She snapped as she placed her hand back in her lap and glared at Mercy.

Mercy took a step forwards, and Artemis visibly tensed- to Mercy, at least.

"You were six when we first met." Mercy began. Canary shot her a glare. She was not supposed to be talking. Artemis cocked an eyebrow. Mercy continued before Canary could intervene.

"We were next door neighbors. Your dad, Lawrence Crock, also known as Sportsmaster, and my mother worked together on an assignment given to them by Lex Luthor to assassinate the Mayor and Police Commissioner of Gotham." Mercy continued, and Artemis continued to grow more and more defensive in her posture, her arms now crossed, and her eyes watching Mercy carefully.

"Some nights, my Mom and your Dad would leave us with Jade, Cheshire, and she would watch us while they either worked, or-" She raised up her hands, and made a pair of weak air quotes. "_Worked." _She sighed. Artemis's eyes widened. She probably hadn't known that part.

"Your Mother, Paula Nguyen, came back, and your father left- and so did I." Mercy sounded a bit saddened by this, and Artemis did to as the memories started to come back to her. "We wrote each other for a little while. But, eventually, my Mother's _lifestyle _prevented any kind of outside communication for several years, and after those several years… I became… _this… thing_." She trailed off, thinking about the words she had read on the screen.

"_Subject implanted with memory of Mother 'asking if she wished to become a hero, and happily accepting'",_ or something along those lines,and then further down it read, "_Subject signed over by Mother to Cadmus, Mother granted 15,000$ compensation." _

It broke her heart. She thought she had chosen this life.

But in truth, she had fought against becoming a hero with all of her might as the genomorphs dragged her down the hallway by her arms as she watched her mother accept a briefcase, and hand the man in the white lab coat a piece of paper. She even had the audacity to wave to her screaming, crying daughter before she left her to be force fed the skills of an assassin for a year and a half.

Artemis watched Mercy, her eyes on her face, which was facing her hands.

She did look a lot like the Mercy she had played with when she was little, but it had been so long that she couldn't be so sure. Her black hair was no longer cropped short and close to her head as it used to be when she was little, and the joyful look the two girls had shared had become steely, and grave.

After a few moments of silence, Artemis cleared her throat, but Mercy did not look up. She was too deep in thought.

"I- I remember you, Mercy, but… what happened to you?" Artemis asked gently, causing Mercy to slowly look up, and meet her gaze. The recognition was there, and so was the concern. Mercy shook her head.

"I'm not even sure, Artemis. I had to destroy the file once the team ambushed me." It was a partial lie, but that would have to do. Nobody needed to know the details of what her 'training' had entailed.

But Artemis accepted the answer, and Black Canary glanced at the clock on the wall.

"I'm sorry, Mercy. You shouldn't have been dragged into this life." Artemis said quietly as she stood. Mercy looked up at her, and swallowed hard. It was true.

"We need to wrap this up. Red Arrow will be here any second." She turned to Mercy, who looked up at her, her face still facing downwards. "Mercy, get into character." Canary turned around, and began to open the door as Mercy pulled out the little bird ring, and slipped it onto her finger. Artemis watched in awe as the girl's hair lightened, and turned its dark shade of red, her skin tanned, and her eyes turned sea blue.

Artemis smirked, and gave a small chuckle, causing Mercy, now Eternal, to look directly at her with her eyebrows raised.

"Cool trick." She smirked as she turned, and walked out of the room. Eternal reached out, and stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder, her expression still stoic, and Artemis turned back around to look at her.

"You still need to act as if you cannot stand my presence because of my… lie. Alright?" Eternal said softly. Artemis frowned, but begrudgingly agreed, and then Eternal let her go.

Artemis immediately went into character, and stormed out of the room- just in time for Red Arrow's arrival to be announced. Artemis was tailed by Eternal and Black Canary shortly after, and the two caught the tail end of her performance as she stabbed the keys at the Zeta tube panel, and left with a vicious huff.

In a flash of light, Artemis was gone, and Red Arrow was left to turn around with his eyes wide, and terribly confused as his eyes finally set on Black Canary and Eternal.

"A… _minor_ disagreement." Eternal spoke nonchalantly, as if she wasn't internally squirming at the sight of Red. Of _Roy._ Her eyes met his, but they were easily masked by years and years of experience.

Roy motioned to the empty space around him, and his eyes searched the room.

"Where's the girl?" He asked, sounding slightly frustrated. Black Canary spoke quickly, and efficiently.

"She escaped. The Team was sent home." Canary said smoothly. Eternal wondered if Red Arrow would accept the lie, and watched him carefully. She watched as he gazed at Black Canary for a while, and then slowly turns his gaze to Eternal, whose arms were still crossed, and her eyes unreadable.

"Where were you when this happened?" He shot. Eternal narrowed her eyes slightly as Red Arrow continued. "I thought you were some 'Master' of whatever it is you do?" He seethed. Eternal uncrossed her arms, and glared. The giant bruise on her face made her look even more menacing than usual, and Red Arrow noted that maybe that shot wasn't such a good idea.

"She wasn't here, Red. She was myself and Batman." Canary defended, taking a few steps forwards to put herself between the two at odds heroes. Red Arrow scoffed.

"So how did she get in here in the first place? I thought this place was Zeta tube entry only!" Eternal grimaced at his lack of knowledge of his surroundings, and huffed as she turned on her heel. Black Canary and Red Arrow looked towards her, and watched with perplexed expressions as she began to stalk away.

"Where are you going?" Canary asked loudly. Eternal didn't stop, but replied.

"Out." Was all she said before she disappeared in the dark hallway, and made her way towards the hanger. Canary was yelling something at her, but she couldn't hear her.

Eternal pulled on the sleeves to her uniform, and zipped it up over her tank top, all while briskly walking towards the black bike that had been assigned to her, and slamming her helmet over her head. She imminently regretted it when her bruise throbbed, but she ignored it, and threw her leg over the bike just as Black Canary and Red Arrow burst into the hanger.

Eternal quickly reached underneath the tail of the bike, and pulled of the tracer that was installed on all of them, and discreetly dropped it onto the floor.

"Eternal!" Canary barked, but Eternal couldn't hear her over the revving of the motorcycle's powerful engine, and as soon as the bay doors opened, Eternal was gone in a cloud of dirt and smoke.

Red Arrow and Black Canary coughed and spat as the smoke cleared, and then both gazed at the bay doors. Red Arrow was the first to notice the tracer, and walked over, and gazed down at it as Canary watched him, still coughing and hacking.

He then crouched down, and picked it up off of the ground, and looked up to gaze at the bay doors with a thoughtful look on his face.

-0-

By the time Eternal had stopped, it was nearly midnight, and the moon was hidden behind the smog, and dark clouds hanging over Gotham.

She knew that coming to this city probably wasn't the best choice, but it was a change of scenery, and if anyone found her, it would more than likely be Robin- since Bats would probably be busy for the next few months trying to figure out who has been keeping tabs on Eternal. And Robin certainly wasn't that difficult to get away from.

All it would take for Eternal was a few skips, jumps, and dives off some roofs and a freefall off of Wayne Towers, and Robin would be off of her tail in no time if she wanted.

But for now, she chose to eye the city from the safety of a stone gargoyle, and simply watch as the traffic never ceased, sirens blared, and questionable characters the size of ants made their way through the streets and alleys.

The wind blew several strands of hair that had come loose from her braid into her face, but she didn't bother to push them aside as her eyes scanned the city before her.

Even after so many years, and all of the terrors Gotham held within its walls, Eternal still found it to be the closest thing to home she had ever known. Luthor Manor had been nice, but she had been on her own most of the time, and no one at the Manor had ever really taken the time to spare of minute of time with her within the house.

And she didn't even want to think about her old home in Star City.

The wind whistled in her ears, and she briefly caught the scent of perfume, and her eyes narrowed as she realized that she was being watched.

"Well, now." A voice purred from behind, and above her. Eternal didn't bother to look up. She recognized Selena's voice from her days of watching her Mother review video of the Catwoman thieve and fight. Eternal never knew until today that those tapes were meant to be used as references for Mercy's training.

"I don't think I've ever seen _you _around here before." Catwoman purred as she propped her elbow up and placed her chin in the palm of her hand on the stone corner of the building above Eternal, who continued to ignore Catwoman with a look of annoyance on her face underneath her mask.

Catwoman gazed down at Eternal with a mischievous smirk, that soon faded when she realized that Eternal was not going to answer her.

"Well, excuse me for bothering you, dear. Just thought a pretty face like yours was a little… _lost_." Catwoman bit as Eternal imagined Catwoman with a tail flicking behind her as she spoke. It was a plausible thought seeing as though if Catwoman did have a tail, she would certainly be swaying it back and forth as often as she could just to enjoy it.

Eternal finally turned her head slightly, and her eyes landed on Catwoman in her peripherals. She could see Selena smirk, and cock her head to the side a little when Eternal turned around.

"Flattery must go a long way with you, sweetheart." Catwoman said with the smallest chuckle. Eternal glared slightly from her position, and Catwoman frowned. Her other hand lowered slightly towards her whip, and Eternal smirked, and turned back around.

"No, actually. Flattery doesn't get anyone anywhere." Eternal finally spoke. She realized that her tone was stonier than usual, but ignored it. Catwoman narrowed her eyes underneath her goggles, and secured her hand around her whip. Eternal grinned, and allowed a leg to hang over the edge of the gargoyle. "And if you pull that whip on me, Selena, you'll regret it for the next ten seconds you're _alive_."

Eternal was in no mood to fight tonight, and the first person that crossed her would be guaranteed a death sentence, no matter what she had promised Batman, Canary, and Green Arrow.

Catwoman's eyes widened for moment, and she narrowed when she watched Eternal stand, and walk towards the head of the gargoyle.

"Do you really think you're in any position to be threatening anyone?" Catwoman hissed her voice still smooth as silk.

Eternal smirked, but before she could make any kind of retort, Catwoman pulled out her whip, and aimed for Eternal's face, planning to stun her, and then pull her feet out from underneath her with another shot of her whip.

But what Catwoman did not expect was for Eternal's hand to dart out of nowhere, and catch the end of the whip, and then shoot a deathly glare at Catwoman, whose eyes widened in shock.

Eternal then gave the whip a sudden jerk, and it came flying out of Catwoman's hands; Eternal then swung it about, and threw the whip so that she could catch the handle in her hand. Catwoman watched in fury as Eternal began to inspect the whip, eyeing it as if she had just bought it from a specialty store.

"You know what," Eternal sighed after a moment. She turned around, her masked face now facing Catwoman, who was now crouched on the corner of the building. Eternal suddenly tossed the whip back at Catwoman, and Selena caught it without a second thought. "I'd rather not have Bats on my ass for killing one of _his_ criminals." She knew that that would be like authorizing her own arrest warrant. Not like she would get caught, but it would make her life much more difficult than it already was. Eternal raised her hand and gave Catwoman a two finger salute as she began to fall backwards off of the high rise. Catwoman's eyes widened, and she moved to catch Eternal with her whip, but it was too late.

Eternal was freefalling for a moment, and just as she was about to pull her glider, she felt a shift in the air; but before she could look and see who it was, an arm snatched her from around her waist, and stopped her sudden freefall.

Eternal growled, and pulled out a knife to stab whomever felt the need to 'save' her when she was planning on pulling her glider anyway, and then noticed the ever infamous yellow letter 'R' emblazoned on her captor's chest.

"You know Robin," Eternal snarled as they flew through the air. Robin didn't look down at her, but she felt him glance at her through his domino mask. "I have a glider." She crossed her arms, and Robin frowned as he finally dropped them both gracefully onto a rooftop, and retracted his grappling hook.

"I know." Robin replied, his voice more serious than usual as he placed his grappling hook back in his utility belt, and turn around to walk towards Eternal, who had moved several feet away. Eternal raised an eyebrow at him as she dusted off some imaginary dirt from her arms and shoulders.

"Then may I ask _why_ you decided it would be best to intervene?" Eternal had to resist the urge to snap at the boy standing before her. Robin was a good head shorter than her, but she knew better than to under estimate his abilities just because he was smaller than the average foe.

Robin shrugged, and then began waving his hand about as if to reiterate his upcoming statement.

"Because if I didn't catch you when I had the chance then I would be chasing you all over Gotham." He replied, his tone still off. Eternal crossed her arms, discreetly placing her hand over the hilt over a hidden knife.

Robin didn't notice the movement, and continued to speak.

"When I got back to the Batcave, I noticed a new file on the computer and…well… I hacked it, and read it." He was starting to sound like the normal Robin again, but now he was wearing a smirk, that Eternal couldn't help narrow her eyes at. So he knew. She figured he would of found out sooner, but she suspected she might have given him too much credit since the kid had been growing on her as of late.

"So you know." She said bluntly, seeing as though now she had no reason to care who knew or not. Robin nodded, and she walked towards the edge of the building.

There were a few moments of silence before Eternal turned her head to glance at the sound of police sirens coming towards them from down the street.

"You do realize you can't tell the team. Or anyone for that matter?" Eternal spoke as coolly as she had been for the past ten minutes. Robin suddenly looked up from the frenzy of police cars nearing below them, and looked up at Eternal as if he were surprised.

"Why? They'll understand, M-" Eternal shot a deathly glare at him before he could finish his sentence, and he swallowed hard. "Eternal. Sorry. I won't. It's your identity to share, not mine." Robin finally admitted as Eternal slowly looked away, and back down at the police and SWAT cars as they sped by underneath them, and continued heading North.

Robin pulled out his grappling hook, and then paused to look up at Eternal, who was gazing off into the distance, her mind somewhere far away.

"Batman told me that you're supposed to be patrolling with Black Canary and me soon." He treaded softly, not wanting to irritate Eternal any more than he had. Eternal turned to look at him, her face a little more relaxed than it had been a minute ago. She nodded, her eyes wide and doe-like.

"Wanna start tonight?" He asked as he jerked his head slightly towards the police cars a ways off. Eternal smirked, and then gave a small chuckle as she walked towards him, and pulled out a grappling hook she had found in the Cave.

"Lead the way, Boy Wonder."

-0-

**Is it bad that I already have the sequel to this story already planned out in my head? **

**And booooy is it good… if I do say so myself. **

**But! I hope you guys liked this chapter. Not sure if I do. But the plot is thickening! **

**Reviews? **

**AND, just a question for you guys. Have any of you been receiving story alerts for stories you haven't even thought of looking at before? I keep getting alerts from stories from Percy Jackson and the Olympians and I don't even read/watch that stuff. **


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Eternal never thought that going on patrol with a thirteen year old hero could possibly be so… _exciting_. Every night there was something to do in Gotham, whether it is gang activity, crime lords, or even just a simple mugging, Eternal and Robin were constantly preoccupied, and her skills with defending her teammates in combat began to improve significantly, and at a rapid pace at that.

But while Eternal began to think of Robin as a younger brother, and Robin thought of her as an older sister, and another teacher, the rest of the team began to grow distant, and even cold. Wally, who used to glue himself to Eternal's side, began to shoot her suspicious looks whenever she came near, and M'gann and Connor began to avoid her completely- which of course, was difficult, since she lived in the cave with them. But they did whatever they could to do so.

Whenever the team went on missions, Batman forced them to bring along Eternal, no matter how much they would protest, or even have the audacity to request the assistance of Red Arrow right in front of Eternal's face. Aqualad would almost begrudgingly give her orders, and most of the time, leave her on her own until Robin protested.

Artemis continued to act as though she despised Eternal, but behind the scenes, the girls would talk and laugh together in Star City while Eternal went on her assigned patrols with Black Canary, and even occasionally with Green Arrow and Artemis since Black Canary had recently been called out for League missions more and more since the 'incident' at the Cave.

But no matter what Eternal did, and despite the demands from Batman and pleas from Robin to his fellow teammates, Eternal no longer felt welcome in her own 'home', and began to spend more and more time in Star City and Gotham with Artemis and Robin. Whether it is at night, or in the middle of the day, she began to avoid the cave as often as she could.

And even though Eternal knew the risks, she continued to see Roy as Mercy, and soon enough, the two were an exclusive couple, and Roy still hadn't been able to figure out Mercy's uncanny ability to figure out how to keep her face out of the papers and the news, even if a camera was less than two feet from her face- which, more frequently than not, Mercy or Roy would swat it away. But with significantly less damage than the first time Mercy had done so. They would simply push them aside by the side of the camera lens, but the media would have a field day no matter how gentle they were.

Her birthday had come and gone, and Roy, Robin, Artemis, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and even Batman were the only ones relatively close to her to wish her a happy birthday, or even get her a present. But she wasn't complaining. Usually all she got for her birthday was an extra bout of screaming from her mother.

Roy treated her to a dinner in the privacy of his apartment, and a movie night where Roy presented her with a charm bracelet he claimed his guardian's girlfriend had picked out for him. Mercy commented on her good tastes, and wore the bracelet whenever she could, and quickly hid it whenever Roy came to the Cave as Red Arrow. Black Canary complemented it once, and so did Green Arrow, both of which were wearing a suspicious smirk that Eternal noted warily as she thanked them politely.

Robin gave her a new and improved grappling hook, and an updated system for her holographic computer, which made it run easier than before, and even helped her hack faster. He also took her on an exclusive trip to Two-Face's lair, where the two single handedly took down the ex-lawyer, and his goons, and dragged them back to Arkham Asylum just in time to catch Batman dragging back the Joker by the collar of his tacky purple suit.

Batman even gave her a new suit, with new and improved body armor, and an even darker black camouflage mode than before, and an extendable electric staff. Black Canary gave her a new set of throwing knives with the letter "E" in engraved into the blades, and a new, and sturdier holster.

Green Arrow facepalmed, and gave her what he called an 'IOU' hug, despite Eternal's protests that he didn't need to buy her anything. A simple acknowledgement of her birthday was enough for her.

Artemis, on the other hand, gave Eternal- or really, Mercy, the best gift of all.

Artemis invited her over to her own home for her birthday, and _re_introduced her to her mother, who nearly cried at the sight of the grown up Mercy, and quickly ushered her to the living room where Paula practically interrogated Mercy on her life, how it was going, where she was staying. As soon as Mercy explained that her housing situation was difficult to explain, Paula exclaimed that she shouldn't be living in the Cave, and invited her to stay with them.

After Mercy had politely declined Paula's offer, Artemis had come into the room, with a tray of three plates filled with food she had made herself. And after the three had finished off the food Artemis's mother had started, and Artemis had finished, Artemis excused herself again, and came back into the room with a homemade cake, topped with eighteen candles, each one carefully lit, and arranged to make the number eighteen. The two had sung her happy birthday, and even added a number of jokes on the end of the song, which brought laughter into the room, and caused a smile to form on Mercy's lips.

That's when Mercy felt the tears prick her eyes, and covered her mouth with her hands.

She had never felt this… _loved, _since she was very young. And she couldn't remember the last time someone had asked her how she was feeling, if she was being fed, if she needed a place to stay, did she need anything at all? Mercy _cried _in front of Artemis and her mother, and they let her cry as long as she needed.

Paula comforted her with a gentle squeeze of her hand on Mercy's shoulder, and Artemis, known for being one of the less inclined to initiate physical contact with her teammates, carefully placed the cake on the table in front of Mercy, and engulfed the girl in a tight hug, and told her that whenever Mercy needed them, they would be there for her.

"You're family." Artemis and her Mother said kindly. And it was the closest thing Mercy felt she had to family in nearly ten years.

When Mercy finally stopped crying, she smiled, and blew out the melting candles, her mind lingering on the wish she had made since she first left Gotham, and her life began to head south.

_I just want to belong. I wish to belong. _

-0-

It was another night on patrol in Star City with Green Arrow and Artemis, and her favorite part had just come along.

Dinner time.

Instead of calling it a night when he felt hungry, or soldiering through a growling stomach, Green Arrow usually swung by one of the local diners, picked up some food to go, and brought it up to the two girls, wherever they were, and the three of them would enjoy their dinners while sitting on the edge of whatever skyscraper, office building, warehouse they happened to be on. Sometimes Robin and Eternal indulged in this activity as well, but usually to satisfy their sweet tooth, and the last time they had done so, Batman had caught them, and the two had received a stern lecture on taking patrols seriously.

Eternal could understand his reasons to why it wasn't the greatest idea in the world- but that was in Gotham, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Star City rarely had anything happen at night since Eternal had retired from her days of thieving.

Right now, the trio was munching away on some hamburgers Green Arrow had picked up from a diner a block away on the ledge of Queen Enterprises fifteenth floor where a nicely sized ledge allowed them plenty of room to sit, walk, and even take a running start if they needed.

Artemis and Eternal laughed at a joke Green Arrow cracked, and Eternal had to swallow her food quickly in order not to choke.

"I never thought I would ever see the day when Canary would get that angry, but dear god, you never, _ever_ want to see it." Green Arrow finished before taking a bite of his burger, giving the two girls a chance to laugh without choking on their food.

Artemis swallowed her bite of food, and then nudged Eternal with her elbow, and smirked as the girl shot her best friend a playful glare as she evaded her elbow to take a bite of her hamburger.

"So how are you and the boyfriend?" Artemis asked, causing Green Arrow to chuckle as he took a bite of his hamburger, and then wiped his mouth with one of the paper napkins that Artemis had kindly placed between all of them. Eternal narrowed her eyes lightheartedly as she finished off her hamburger, and then crumpled up the wax paper it had been wrapped in.

She usually finished first these days since she didn't like to go into the common area where M'gann would cook constantly, and Connor incessantly stare at the snow on the disconnected television. Which other words, meant she often skipped meals, which wasn't the best idea when you constantly burned calories whilst kicking bad guy butt.

As Eternal shrugged, Artemis offered Eternal her fries, which she happily accepted, and began munching on. Artemis was well aware of Eternal's struggles at the Cave, and her mother often invited Eternal over for dinner, and made sure to stuff the girl full before sending her back.

"Okay. Taking things slow and whatnot." Eternal finally spoke as she shrugged again. Artemis scoffed, and Green Arrow smirked as he thought of all of the things his son had been telling him about the untouchable girl he had 'been so lucky to come across'.

"How long has it been now?" Artemis asked before taking another bite of her hamburger. Eternal paused, and then took a moment to think before suddenly laughing, causing the two heroes sitting next to her to stop chewing, and lean over slowly to look at her as if she had lost her mind.

Eternal noticed them, and laughed harder, her arms wrapped around her stomach.

"You know, I'm not sure." She finally said as she calmed down. Artemis still continued to look at her best friend as if she had lost her mind, but Green Arrow just shrugged and continued to eat the rest of his hamburger.

"We never really had a set 'date', per say. It was just kind of mutually assumed after a while that we were a couple after a month." Eternal shrugged, causing Artemis to shoot her another bizarre look. "I just thought it was funny because Robin asked me the same thing. We just don't care to believe that a date matters I guess." She shrugged again, and tossed a fry into the air, and caught it in her mouth.

Artemis clapped, and announced that she gave the toss an eight, and encouraged Eternal to do it again. Green Arrow smiled at the two girls, and then gave a quiet chuckle as he remembered the exact words that Roy had said about how he and Mercy didn't care about dates and numbers, just that they were together.

As the girls talked and laughed together, Green Arrow finished off his burger, just in time to for the three heroes comms to come to life at the same time, and a voice to come through.

"_Red Arrow to Green Arrow. Assistance requested on the North side of town. Greenwich and Second." _Red Arrow spoke. Eternal's eyes grew wide, and Artemis chanced a glance at her friend, who was now holding her finger against her comm., listening carefully to Red Arrow's request to take note of any vocal signs of distress.

Green Arrow stood and readied a grappling arrow as he replied to Red Arrow, and Artemis followed suit as Eternal pulled out her grappling hook.

"On our way. Any details?" Green Arrow spoke as he pushed himself off of the edge of the building, and flew through the air.

Artemis followed, while Eternal opted to head for the high route, and rose above them to get a better view of the area. Greenwich and Second was only a few blocks away.

"_New assailant. Said her name was Kadence. I requested information from Batman but he said she wasn't in the League's system. Brand spanking new." _Red Arrow spoke as Eternal flipped onto the roof of the neighboring high-rise to Queen Enterprises. .

As soon as Eternal looked up to scan the area she was perched over, she caught sight of a running figure heading East, leaping over rooftops and sprinting with all of their might.

"_Target is heading east towards Kingston and Second." _Red Arrow announced. Eternal's hand darted up to her comm., and she began to sprint after the target.

"I have a visual." Eternal said before grappling up towards the suspect, the hook secured itself a solid ten yards in front of the target.

"_Engage the target, proceed with caution." _Green Arrow ordered as he and Artemis grappled and sprinted to catch up with Eternal. Green Arrow turned to look at Artemis, and then pointed up towards one of the higher floors of the building Eternal had just been standing on.

Eternal grappled up just in time to flip up over the suspect, pull her bo-staff out, and before the suspect could even look up to see where the electric crackling had come from, Eternal jammed the electric end of the bo-staff into the suspect's back.

The suspect gave a high pitched scream, and then crumpled to the ground in a heap. Eternal watched the girl, and kept her bo-staff carefully trained over her back. If she tried to get up, she would just be electrocuted again.

Red Arrow ran up, and skidded to a stop, his eyes on the girl, Kadence, and then slowly looked up at Eternal, his eyes narrow and obviously annoyed.

"I thought you were supposed to be in Gotham tonight." He snarled. Eternal frowned, but did not glare as she usually would have before she found out Roy's alter ego. She figured that this was how he got to disperse all of his pent up anger, so she didn't stop him or antagonize him as much as she used to.

Eternal retracted her bo-staff, and placed it back in her utility belt as Green Arrow and Artemis arrived.

"Robin and I got in trouble on our last patrol. Can't go to Gotham for a week." Eternal shrugged as she pulled out a pair of hand cuffs, and then held them out to Red, who simply glanced down at them, and then looked up to glare at Eternal again before snatching them away from her.

She heard him grumble a quiet 'thanks' and she simply gave him a small 'hmm' in response as she walked towards Green Arrow and Artemis, who both simultaneously crossed their arms at her.

"Think you could leave some action for us, too?" Green Arrow joked as he playfully punched Eternal's arm, which she skillfully dodged. Eternal smirked, and playfully shuffled her feet like and rose up her fists like a boxer.

"I got your action right here!" She shouted jokingly, causing Green Arrow to laugh, and Artemis to chuckle quietly as Green Arrow began to mimic Eternal. Eternal's fist shot out, but she meant no harm once so ever, and Green Arrow acted as if Eternal had broken his nose, and cried out overdramatically as he gripped his nose, shouted a few profanities, and dropped to his knees.

Red Arrow watched on with a grimace on his face as he watched on with distain. When he finally decided he had had enough of watching the three of them play around, he spoke.

"If you three are finished…" It came out as a quiet snarl, but it was loud enough for them to hear.

Green Arrow stopped pretending to rip Eternal off of his back, and Eternal looked up from her spot on Green Arrow's back, her arms wrapped around his neck in a tight death grip as Artemis desperately tried to stifle her laughter. Eternal shot Red Arrow a carefully concealed look of concern, and slipped off of Green Arrow's back, and began to walk towards Red Arrow.

She turned around halfway, continued to walk backwards, and saluted Green Arrow and Artemis.

"I'll help him with this," She pointed a thumb at the unconscious thief. "And then head home. Thanks for dinner, again!" Eternal chirped as she spun back around, and leaned over to pick up Kadence.

"No need to thank me, Eternal. See you tomorrow night!" Green Arrow chirped as Artemis waved. "Nice seeing you again, Red." He smiled genuinely at Red Arrow, but the only response he got from his former protégée was a scowl, and a soft grunt, which caused him to frown, and turn away.

Just as Green Arrow and Artemis grappled away, Eternal began repeatedly, but gently slapping the girl's face in order to get her to wake.

"Wakey wakey, sleeping crook-y." Eternal muttered as she continued to slap the girls face. Red Arrow grumbled at the sight, and began to move forward, about to say something about how unprofessional Eternal was being when the girl woke up- and promptly attempted to escape.

Kadence's eyes popped open, and before Eternal's smirk could finish forming and her witty quip could escape her lips, the girl threw her head forwards, and head butted Eternal.

Eternal pulled her head back just in time, and her half smirk turned into a full on scowl as the girl began to struggle against her grip on her sweater.

Eternal just sighed loudly, and then with a swift movement, Eternal thrust her flat palm forwards, broke the girl's nose- which caused a sickening crack to resonate through the air- and stilled her, and then pressed a pressure point on the back of her head that caused her to fall unconscious.

Red Arrow raised his eyebrows at the sight and finally made his way over to the two.

Eternal glanced at him, and then looked back at Kadence. She had been eyeing the symbol sloppily sewn onto her black sweater.

"Honestly, I like her better when she's unconscious." Eternal remarked as she continued to eye the symbol. Red Arrow smirked.

"I have to agree. But did you have to break her nose?" Eternal ignored his remark, but couldn't help but notice the hint of a laugh in there, and then pointed at the symbol on the girl's sweater.

"Recognize that from anywhere?" Eternal asked, knowing full well that he would. Red Arrow's eyes turned to where Eternal's gloved covered finger was pointing, and his expression turned grave.

It was a circle. A sloppy one at that, but still, a white circle on a black background.

The symbol of Eternal that Red Arrow believed to be Night's calling card.

Red Arrow growled, and tapped his comm. in his ear as Eternal narrowed her eyes at the girl, and then reached up to unmask her.

As Red Arrow groveled about something to whomever over his comm., Eternal's eyes almost bugged out of her skull at the sight of the girl; she couldn't have been any older than twelve or thirteen. Her hair was a bright shade of pink, and her face was sprayed with a layer of freckles over pale skin that looked as if it hadn't seen sunlight in years.

Which, if Eternal's suspicions were correct, she probably hadn't.

_Luthor didn't make a new Eternal… did he?_ She thought with her eyes still wide, set solidly on the girl. Her eyes then narrowed. _I wouldn't be surprised. _

Eternal reached for her comm. as Red began to yell at the person on the other end of his.

"Eternal to Batman." She whispered. Her comm. responded right away, and Batman's voice came through.

"_Batman." _He replied stonily. Eternal held down her comm. again, and glanced back to make sure that Red was still preoccupied. When he was, she spoke again.

"I think Luthor's trying to duplicate me- if you catch my drift." She whispered again as she set the girl down, and pulled out a few zip ties from her utility belt, and secured them over the girl's ankles, wrists, and then tied another over those zip ties, and then another set of those to be sure. But Eternal knew that based on the girl's poor performance, she was nothing near the _real _Eternal's level, and stood no chance of escaping the bonds.

Batman took a while to answer, and soon enough, she began to realize that this notice had unnerved him.

"_Understood. I've given orders to Red Arrow to place her in League custody."_ Batman answered. Eternal looked back and noticed that Red Arrow was now silently brooding over something with his back to Eternal.

"Understood." Eternal spoke normally.

"_And Eternal,_" Batman spoke just before Eternal was about to sign off. "_You may resume patrols with Robin. His punishment has been reduced." _

Eternal smirked, and reminded herself that she would have to ask Robin what he had to do to deserve a reduction in punishment.

"Sounds great. Thanks Bats. Eternal out." She said as he tried to stifle her laugh, and ended the comm.

"We have to take her to the Hall." Red Arrow finally said as he made his way towards Eternal and the fallen impersonator of who he believed to be Night. Eternal nodded, and the two fell into a momentary silence as they gazed at the fallen girl before them.

"I don't think she's Night." Eternal finally spoke, her arms crossed over her chest as she further inspected the girl's outfit. It couldn't even be called a costume because of how poorly it had been made. "I think she's either a copy cat, or-"

Red Arrow cut her off with a glare, and Eternal glared back. If he was seriously going to say that he believed that girl was really Night, she would have to practice some serious self restraint to keep her from pulling his eyes out of his sockets with her fingers.

"I know." Red Arrow grumbled as he reached down to pick up the girl. Eternal silently looked up, and mouthed a quick thank you to the sky. She wouldn't have to maul her boyfriend after all. "That was too easy. Even for you."

Eternal was about to say something else, but then she caught the ever so subtle complement, and stopped short.

"Wait a second…" She said slyly as she placed her hands on her hips. Red Arrow rolled his eyes underneath his mask as he threw the girls over his shoulders. They would have to lower her down to the sidewalk somehow without hurting her. "Did you just give me a complement?" She questioned as she walked towards him, and shot him a suspicious look as she looked up at him.

"Don't let it go to your head." Red Arrow grumbled as he adjusted the girl on his shoulders. "Now give me your grappling hook and head down to the sidewalk." He demanded in a nonchalant tone of voice. Eternal furrowed her eyes at him and frowned before finally handing him her spare grappling hook, and mocking him by mouthing the words he had just said in an exaggerated fashion. Red Arrow narrowed his eyes at her and snatched the grappling hook from her hand as he sneered at Red Arrow just as immaturely as Eternal was.

"_Don't let it go to your head. _Blah, blah, blah." Eternal muttered as she walked towards the edge of the roof and attached her other grappling hook to a pipe, and then flipped over backwards over the edge of the roof and quickly slid down to the sidewalk, the rope of her grappling hook squealing quietly against her gloves as she went.

Once Eternal hit the ground, she jerked the grappling line to unhook it from the pipe, and then tucked it back in her utility belt.

Once she was done, she waved up to Red Arrow, and he began to carefully lower the tied up girl, feet first, her hands secured in front of her so that Eternal could make sure she did not try to escape. She was lowered slowly, and she didn't move a single muscle as she went.

Eternal quickly gathered the girl, set her down on the sidewalk, and waited for Red Arrow. Soon enough, Red joined them, and picked the girl back up again, and the two walked to the Zeta transporter that would take them to the Hall of Justice where the girl would be held.

"Sure you don't want me to carry her?" Eternal asked as they strolled down the sidewalk as if they were normal civilians- minus the fact Red was carrying an unconscious girl over his shoulder. Red Arrow glanced at Eternal, shook his head, and then continued on without another word.

After a few minutes of silence, Red Arrow finally spoke.

"Can I ask you a question?" His voice was gruff, as usual, but his tone was gentle. Eternal looked up at him, an eyebrow raised.

"You just did. But you can ask another if you like." She quipped as she turned her gaze back towards the street. Red Arrow smirked, and adjusted the girl on his shoulder.

"Why the change? You used to be so… abrasive." Eternal furrowed her brow slightly at this comment, but did not point out that he was the same way. Abrasive, and horribly stubborn.

Eternal shrugged, and stuck her bottom lip out.

"I've gotten comfortable I guess. And when we met… you weren't exactly, _forthcoming_." Eternal shot him a look, and Red's face flickered with a look of embarrassment. "You've softened up a little. Not much. But a little."

Red Arrow remained silent for while longer, and after a while, the two heroes reached the police station, where Eternal chose to leave Red on his own.

"I should be getting back to the Cave. See you on my next patrol." Eternal said a bit too quickly as she turned on her heel and waved at Red Arrow as he handed off the unconscious girl to two police officers, who both eyed her restraints with wide eyes. Red Arrow turned around suddenly, stuttered, and then quickly turned to tell the officers that the girl needed to be transported to the Hall of Justice and kept in solidarity. Before Red could even watch them nod, he whirled around, and caught up to the girl walking down the steps ahead of him and nearly tripped as he ran down the stairs.

"Eternal!" He shouted, causing Eternal to stop, turn around, and watch him as he came down the steps, the eye slits of her mask wide. The officers at the top of the steps exchanged a look, and then both shrugged before turning towards the police station, and heading inside.

Red Arrow finally stopped in front of Eternal, sighed, and shook his head.

The way Red was acting right now was starting to cause Eternal to feel a slight discomforting feeling in her stomach- and it was telling her that something about Roy's body language right now was something she shouldn't be okay with.

"Listen… I'm sorry about that." He said quickly. Eternal's expression remained the same, but her gut feeling hadn't changed. She shook her head as Red reached up and scratched the back of his head.

"No, no… its… fine." She muttered as she started to walk away. Red frowned and tried to speak, but Eternal interrupted him. "I really have to get going, Red. I'll see you around."

Red blinked, and Eternal was gone.

-0-

"So what do you think, Robin? You think she could be like me?" Eternal asked from her perch on the edge of Wayne Towers top floor. Robin looked down at her as he paused his typing on his holographic computer, and wrinkled his eyebrows in concern at the older girl. She was sitting on the edge, her knees pulled up and tucked under her chin, her arms wrapped around her legs protectively.

There was a few minutes worth of silence between the two of them as they waited for Gotham's cry for help, the question left to float in the air unanswered.

"I don't know, Etty. If she was, she…_obviously_ wasn't ready." Robin said hesitantly, not wishing to upset Eternal any more than she was. It wasn't obvious, but Eternal had been mulling over the pink haired impersonator since she had left Red Arrow with her.

"Yeah… she wasn't." Eternal muttered quietly as Robin watched her for a moment longer, and then returned to his computer.

"Batman interrogated her didn't he?" Eternal asked as she stood, her toes just over the edge of Wayne Towers as she turned and looked over the skyline, her eyes watching for any signs of unnoticed trouble.

"He tried to. She seemed to be just as immune to the Bat-Glare as you are. Which I don't see you do that in the first place…" Robin murmured the last part, but Eternal's sharp ears caught it, and she gave a quiet laugh.

"It's easy." Eternal quipped as she squinted her eyes at the city. She thought she saw something. "Anything on the police scanner?" Eternal asked as she took a few steps forward, and pulled out a pair of collapsible binoculars from her utility belt. Something was tugging at her instincts, telling them that she saw _something_.

Robin checked the police scanner once more, and then shook his head.

"Nope. Quiet night I guess." He shrugged as he made his way over to Eternal, closing his holographic computer as he walked. "See something?"

Eternal didn't answer- in fact, she hadn't even heard him because she had been focusing so hard on the building she thought she saw movement on. It was quick, stealthy. It had to be to get past Eternal's sharp eyes.

And then it happened.

Just as Eternal suspected, a black silhouette emerged from behind an air conditioner, and sprinted towards the building next to it.

"Movement, northeast side." Eternal reported her tone of voice abruptly severe. Robin pulled out a grappling hook as Eternal put back her binoculars with lightening speed, and took out her own grappling hook. The air between the two heroes easily went from casual, to deathly serious in a matter of milliseconds.

Eternal and Robin both took a running start off of Wayne Towers, and free fell down the side of the building, their arms tightly tucked to their sides and their legs straight and rigid.

Robin aimed his grappling hook at a building nearby, while Eternal reached back, and grabbed the release on her glider. Eternal looked towards Robin, and Robin looked towards Eternal.

The two gave each other a curt nod, and then both moved into action.

Eternal pulled the release on her glider, and Robin shot off his grappling hook. The Boy Wonder swung forward, while Eternal executed a swift barrel roll directly underneath him, and shot towards the building the silhouette was running towards. Eternal knew she would be the first to reach the silhouette, seeing that she was flying through the air like a bullet.

As Eternal grew closer and closer, she saw the suspect reach back, and assuming that he was pulling out a weapon, she pulled her arms closer to her, and the roaring air around her grew louder as she began to move faster.

And in a grand total of eight and a half seconds, Eternal was twenty feet from the suspect- who she could now see was male- and that his weapon was an extendable Sai.

Just as the man whipped out the extendable sai, and spun about to strike Eternal in mid-flight, Eternal took a hard right and the blade narrowly missed her stomach.

Eternal collected herself better than any hero facing a probable crash landing would, and expertly placed a gloved hand on the pebble coated rooftop, dug her fingers into it to slow her momentum, and brought her legs over like a true acrobat.

Her feet came down quickly, and Eternal came skidding to a halt. To stop herself faster, she extended her right leg, and sure enough, after another second, she stopped completely, her face facing the rooftop, and her glider concealing her body from the suspect, who was frozen in his place, his extendable sai still in hand, gleaming in the dull light of Gotham city.

Eternal reached towards her utility belt underneath the safety of her glider, and pulled out two extendable police batons she had never gotten the chance to use during her thieving days, and clicked them on, causing an electric cackle to fill the air as she looked up, and shrugged off her glider.

Eternal slowly stood, and the male quickly tensed, his feet loudly scraping against the pebbled rooftop as he moved his feet into position.

"Not a smart move, my friend." Eternal growled as she slowly looked up at the male, her expression dark, and nearly as frightening as the Dark Knight's own glare as she stepped out of the shadows. "Not smart at all."

The male gave a quiet snarl, and before Eternal could say another word, he dove at her, his extendable sai held in both hands, and began slashing with manic precision that nearly surprised Eternal.

Nearly.

Eternal quickly raised up at baton, blocked his first blow, and quickly swung the second electric baton at his stomach, successfully electrocuting him, and then pushed the blocked sai away, and ducked to evade the sai that had quickly come back around to hit her once more.

"You know the great thing about extendable sais?" Eternal spoke as she swung at the male again, successfully getting in three electrifying hits before having to evade another wild swing from him. He was getting angry, and fast, making his swings wild and uncontrolled.

"They collapse-" Eternal dove between the male's legs, rolled, appeared behind him, and took a quick swing at his side, causing him to double over slightly, and turn to take another wild swing at Eternal. Eternal's electric baton swung out once again, and impacted with the extendable sai with such force that the sai's internal clip that kept it open, crumbled, and the deathly blade of the sai collapsed back in on itself, becoming useless to the beholder. "On high impact."

The male roared, threw the useless sai aside, and took several leaps back, reaching behind him mid air to pull out pair of nun chucks. He began swinging them as he sprinted towards Eternal, and she glowered as she dodged a wild swing, leaned back to move away another with her back nearly parallel to the roof, and then executed a one handed back handspring to dodge another.

As soon as Eternal saw the opportunity, she dove at her assailant, and managed to get twelve successive hits on him with her electrified batons, one strike hit him behind the knee, and he fell, just to roll backwards away from Eternal, and jump back up.

But just as he growled again and moved to lunge at Eternal who was more than ready for him, Robin swung in, and his feet collided with the back of the assailants head, and Eternal took a violent swing at the male, and her baton hit him square in the jaw, causing him to fly to the right, and collapse in a heap.

Eternal quickly threw her batons back into her utility belt, and pulled out a handful of zip ties as she made her way over to the assailant, and kneeled down to secure him.

"Took you long enough." Eternal stabbed at Robin. Robin rolled his eyes, and held out his hands for some zip ties, which Eternal quickly handed him so that he could begin securing the male's feet.

"Mugging in the ally. Poor old lady didn't stand a chance. But I didn't take that long now did I?" Robin chuckled as he secured six zip ties just to the male's ankles. Eternal smirked and shook her head.

"No. I guess not." She laughed lightly as she finished securing his hands, and then reached to turn him over. Eternal reached up to the male's face, and pulled off his mask. "Anyone you know?" Eternal asked Robin as she handed him the simple ski mask. Robin shook his head as he accepted the mask, and put it in his utility belt.

"Nope. Brand new I guess." Robin shrugged. Eternal narrowed her eyes at the boy- who couldn't have been older than sixteen, and gave a small sound of discontent.

"I don't like this. He's-"She stopped short, and when Robin noticed the silence, he turned to look at Eternal.

"Etty?" Robin said as he reached forward, and touched her shoulder. The touch caused her to jump slightly, but she didn't turn away from the boy.

"Robin… we need to contact the League." She whispered as she reached towards the boy. Robin watched her as his eyebrows shot up, and waited as she ripped a patch off of the arm of the boy's costume.

"Why?" Robin asked as she brought the patch up, and held it out of Robin's line of sight.

Eternal sighed, and then turned around as she stood. Robin had to look up just to see the anxious expression on her face.

"Because I believe one of _me_ is more than enough." Eternal growled as she opened her hand, and the patch unfolded, revealing the white circle on the black patch of fabric.

**-0-0-**

**Oh boy why do I feel like this is poopy poop poop. But review away if you wish. **

**Which would encourage a new chapter to be posted…. Asap. **


	15. Chapter 15

**There have been 540 visitors to this story. **

**I wanna see some reviews!**

…**please.**

**-0-**

Chapter Fifteen

"I never thought I'd see the day where Mercy Mendelssohn-Nacht would walk through the doors of the Hall of Justice…" Mercy murmured to herself as she trailed behind Batman, whose cape was billowing behind him like a black cloud of smoke, guiding Mercy- who was dressed and disguised as Eternal- towards the inner sanctum of the Hall. Not many people were there at the moment, but the two were receiving a good amount of stares as Batman entered his designation, and an override to allow Eternal into the sanctum.

Batman glanced back at her as the large air locked doors slid open, and glared slightly.

As soon as the doors closed behind the two, Batman spoke.

"_Never _use your real name in public. Unless you _want_ to get yourself killed." Batman growled as the scanner looked him over, and then Eternal, who nearly jumped as she was blinded by the projected grid.

"Yeah, yeah. An army of duplicates of me after my blood. Lex Luthor is after my ass yadda, yadda." Eternal mumbled to herself. Batman shot her another glare as the second set of doors slid open, and then turned back to walk through.

Eternal smirked as she walked in the Sanctum of the Hall, and her eyes landed on each of the League members that stood before her.

The Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and both Green Lanterns. And based on the shift in the mood of the air Eternal felt as soon as she stepped inside, they were all aware of exactly how dangerous Eternal was to them. Wonder Woman's hand instinctively moved towards her lasso, Flash tensed momentarily, Superman's eyes flashed, Martian Manhunter tried to invade her mind- to no avail, and the Green Lanterns rings glowed momentarily before their light dulled once again.

Eternal just shot them all a smug smirk, crossed her arms, allowed her stance to relax, and gave a soft chuckle. Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Batman narrowed their eyes at her actions, but did not voice their disapproval.

"Why so serious?" She chirped almost happily as she quirked her head to the side, causing small strands of loose hair to fall into her face. Batman gave a soft, but audible growl next to her, and her blue eyes darted towards him, and her lips fell into a frown.

"This is not the time for _mockery._" Wonder Woman spoke sternly as she took a step forwards, her hand still on her lasso. Eternal's eyes darted towards Wonder Woman's lasso and the back up at Wonder Woman's eyes.

Upon realizing that her hand was on her weapon, Wonder Woman allowed her hand to drop to her side, but did not allow herself to be anything less than alert.

Black Canary stepped forwards, and reached towards Eternal, who granted her a warm smile as the songbird placed both of her hands on Eternal's shoulders.

"Eternal, what you're about to see, you can _never _tell _anyone _about. Do you understand?" Black Canary said with a voice of authority. Eternal resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, and nodded at Canary as she thought about how they wouldn't have listened to her if she told them anyway.

Batman left Eternal's side, and moved towards the front of the room where a large computer resided, and began typing.

The Flash took a pensive step forwards, and Eternal's eyes instantly darted towards the movement before his foot even hit the ground again. Flash's eyes widened slightly at the movement Eternal made, but he quickly concealed it by pasting on a smile.

"So you're the famous Etty that Kid can't shut up about?" Flash smirked as he pointed at Eternal almost joyfully. His fellow teammates raised an eyebrow at him, and their eyes darted between the two as Eternal's eyebrows rose ever so slightly, and her head raised up a little.

"Kid still talks about me?" She asked, her tone thoroughly surprised. "The whole team has been a bit… stand offish lately." She muttered just loud enough for them to hear. Flash shrugged as he gave a soft chuckle.

"Still talks a mile a second about you." Flash smirked as he crossed his arms, and Eternal let her arms fall to her sides. Her sudden movement caused the League members who were not familiar with her- now excluding Flash, to tense again. Eternal shot them all a look, sighed loudly, and then looked back at Flash.

"That's… odd. We hardly speak these days." Eternal mentioned softly. Flash looked confused, but before he could say anymore, Batman cleared his throat, commanding the nine other people in the room to look at him.

"Eternal." He motioned for her to come forwards. Green Arrow followed.

"You and Green Arrow will be the first to go. The rest of us will follow. Do not touch anything, do not_ wander _away from Green Arrow, _do you understand_?" Batman snarled. Eternal thought his force was unnecessary, but she didn't feel the need to start anything, and just nodded.

"Alright, kiddo. Lets go." Green Arrow chirped as he placed a hand on Eternal's shoulder, and she looked up to grin at him. Green Arrow smirked back, and then led the two of them towards the Zeta transporter, and both stepped inside.

In a flash of light, the two were gone, and in another, they appeared again, but in a much… _different_ place.

It took Eternal a moment to process it, but as soon as she realized where she was… she couldn't help but 'wander' away from Green Arrow at the sight of space through the enormous windows ahead of her.

Her brain suddenly switched back on, and information came flooding into her consciousness.

_The Watchtower. The Justice League's top secret headquarters that orbits Earth. Not weaponized, Zeta beam entry and dock with authorized entry only. Be advised, emergency protocols allow the inside of the Watchtower to shift in order to confuse and disorient enemies if necessary. The Monitor Womb- _

Her thoughts stopped as if they had been paused at the feeling of weight on her shoulder, and she froze in mid step.

"Do you always disobey direct orders?" Green Arrow questioned as he took a step forwards to stand next to Eternal, his hand still secured on her shoulder. Eternal continued to gaze around the Monitor Womb, her eyes glued to the stars outside of the window and the perfect view of earth as she responded.

"Only most of the time… I follow them when I find them relevant." Eternal quipped in a almost airy tone of voice that Green Arrow dismissed as awe, when really, Eternal was wondering where the spill of information on the Watchtower had come from. Green Arrow laughed, removed his hand from her shoulder to clap her on the back, and then turned when another flash of light brought several other league members to the Watchtower.

Batman, Flash, Black Canary, and Wonder Woman arrived first, and then Superman, Martian Manhunter, and both Green Lanterns. As soon as they arrived, Eternal turned around to face them, her eyes carefully concealed to hide her 'awe', her expression now one that read something along the lines of 'uninterested'.

"So, Bats." Eternal nearly sighed as Batman and the rest of the League members moved forwards. Batman shot her a look, telling her that he disapproved of her use of his little 'pet name' she had given him in front of his fellow league members. "Why have you brought me here? Of all places?" She asked as she took a few steps towards the group of League members.

Batman did not answer right away, but Superman did take the chance to speak.

"Why _did _you bring her here? She's a danger to all of us and revealing this information to her-" Superman was cut of by Batman's glare, and he quickly ended his short rant.

"I brought _Eternal _here to show her that she is trusted among the members of the League, and based on what we've seen so far from these… duplicates, any of them could be watching the Hall. We can't take _any_ risks." Batman growled as he strode forwards, and led the group of League members, and Eternal towards a room deeper in to the bowls of the Watchtower.

Every time Eternal tried to speak, she was cut of by a glare, or a light shove from Green Arrow. Every time Eternal tried to get a closer look at something, Flash would suddenly appear and begin to talk about something Eternal had to feign interest in. Whenever she tried to move from her position next to Green Arrow, Wonder Woman and Superman would adjust their pace to prevent her from moving forwards.

And soon enough, Eternal had enough, and she finally chose to choose the less discreet route.

"Alright… I see how it is…" Eternal mumbled, causing Superman to glance back at her. "'Scuse me!" Eternal shouted as she suddenly leaped up, used Martian Manhunter's shoulders to vault over the group of heroes keeping her pent in, and landed in front of Batman, with a soft grunt, and a quick roll before bouncing back up to her feet and dusting of imaginary dirt from her arms. Black Canary hid her annoyed expression in the palm of her hand, and Batman grumbled, but did not turn to glare at Eternal as she obnoxiously placed herself on her tip toes, walked a few paces, and then gave a light laugh.

"Ah… mama's still got it." She sighed as she adjusted her mask comically. The masked Green Lantern gave a small laugh, and his fellow League members surrounding him turned to shoot him a glare. His laugh quickly transformed into a hacking cough, and then a quick clearing of his throat before he muttered something inaudible to everyone- Except Superman of course.

Soon enough, the group entered a meeting room where Eternal promptly plopped down into a random seat, and gazed around the room as a pair of heavy doors slide shut behind the League members, who filed in quietly and found their way to their own seats.

Eternal gazed around the room, and in a few moments, she realized that Batman was missing.

Someone cleared their throat behind her, and she looked up.

Batman was standing behind her, off to her left with his arms crossed over his chest, and a stern expression on his masked face.

Eternal glanced around, then towards her hands on the table, and then back to Batman, who was still glaring at her.

Eternal finally, stood, slowly, and turned the seat towards Batman with a mocking bow. Batman growled, took his seat, and turned himself back towards the table as Eternal found herself another seat towards the other end of the table, where very few of the League members where sitting, and placed her hands back on the table.

"Now," Batman spoke as a holographic panel appeared in front of him. He selected a few options, and a screen appeared in the center of the table, displaying mug shots of not two, but seven criminals bearing the crest of Eternal sew onto their black costumes with white thread.

Eternal narrowed her eyes at the pictures, and her fist pounded on the table, and motioned towards the extra mug shots violently as the League members eyes shot towards her with shocked expressions.

All of them, excluding Batman, of course.

"Who are they?" Eternal snarled, her eyes filling with anger similar to Batman's when he interrogated criminals. It struck a slight chord of fear in a few of the Leaguers as Batman cleared his throat.

"I found her trying to the CCPD's forensics building last night." The Flash spoke with his usual chipper tone as he pointed to a girl with platinum blonde hair and dark green eyes. Her expression was one of pure hatred as she glared daggers at the camera. Flash stroked an imaginary beard, and squinted slightly at the girl. "She was sneaky. But her hand to hand combat skills were poor. I took her out in a grand total of two moves." He stated almost smugly as he held up two fingers like a small child.

The Green Lantern with dark skin nodded towards a boy with a military cut hairstyle, and the second Green Lantern with light skin and a domino mask spoke.

"We caught him a few nights ago. Around the same time Batman alerted us to keep an eye out for suspicious activity, and right after that we spotted this guy on the roof of the Hall." He remarked. Eternal noted that his tone was very carefree.

"He wasn't stealthy or skilled in combat. Caught him with a simple pair of handcuffs from our power rings." The second Green Lantern said. Eternal finally realized how different the two were. One wore a smirk, and the other seemed to constantly frown.

Wonder Woman pointed towards a girl with long, flowing brown hair and blue eyes, her expression cross as began to speak.

"_That one, _tried to follow me into a Zeta tube back to Theymiscera." She nearly snarled. Eternal's eyebrows rose slightly at this. _How could a copy of her be so _stupid_? _

"Not stealthy- obviously, but she put up a better fight then most opponents. Took advantage of weaknesses and extremely cunning." Wonder Woman slowly began to sound impressed, but her expression did not change. Eternal frowned, and wondered how so many defects were being made in her copies.

Superman put a hand forward, and selected his captured minor, a scrawny looking black boy with bleached hair, and scowled.

"This one… he had kryptonite. But he wasn't smart enough to make sure I wouldn't crash land into him when he took it out. Very stealthy. I didn't see him until he was right in front of me, but he wasn't highly endowed in the intelligence department to say the least…" Superman mumbled the last part just loud enough for Eternal to hear, and she snorted quietly from her end of the table.

Martian Manhunter pulled up his captured copy of Eternal; A small girl, who from her information on the panel that had just appeared in front of Eternal stated she was only 95 pounds, and covered in battle wounds. Her hazel eyes glimmered with intelligence, but her dirty, blue, purple, and green hair said that she obviously didn't like to take a part in society, which told Eternal that she was fresh off of the press.

"She knew exactly how to block my mental attacks, and used many weapons that took advantage of my weaknesses. It was very difficult to locate her after I had to call on Black Canary for assistance, and took several days to find her hidden in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Seattle. Her hand to hand combat skills are strong, and her stealth is above average, extreamly intelligent, but ill tempered, and lost control of the battle soon after Black Canary pointed out to her that her blocking skills needed some … as she would say…_work_." Manhunter finished as Eternal squinted at the picture of the girl, and the gazed at the others with the same expression.

After a few moments of silence, Batman spoke.

"Do you have anything to say about this, Eternal?" Batman asked. Eternal glanced at him, her hand still placed under her chin as she inspected the photos, and then reached up to pull off her mask.

"Might as well call me by my real name, Bats. I know you all know who I am, or else I wouldn't be here _helping _you." She sighed as she pocketed the mask, and rubbed her eyes. "But, I do have something to say." She added quickly before Batman had the opportunity to scold her.

She removed her hand from her face, reached down towards the holographic panel in front of her, and selected the photo of the girl Wonder Woman had caught.

"Here. Perfect example. I was taught to never follow any of my targets to their home turf. It makes them stronger, gives them the upper hand, gives them a reason to fight even harder- and in Wonder Woman's case, and means she would have allies. It's a dumb, ill planned move that I would _never _do." Eternal quickly selected the boy the Green Lanterns had caught, and gave a disappointed sigh.

"_You fell for it_." She said sing song as she began typing on the panel- and after a few moments, the screen in front of all of them disappeared for a moment, and then displayed a security feed of the boy's cell. Canary began to scold Eternal for hacking the League's systems- but was cut off by the sound of rustling from the feed, and then a sudden black out. "Playing possum. Get caught; get taken to a holding cell in enemy territory." She stated as she began typing again.

In another moment, all of the League members began beeping or flashing in some sort of fashion, and Eternal quickly shut off the alerts.

"He won't be getting out of there for a while." Eternal quipped as she closed the keyboard on the panel with a swipe, and glanced up at the screen, which was now displaying the mug shots for a while.

Superman looked up from his beeping belt, and frowned at Eternal.

"What did you do to him?" He asked, his tone concerned. Eternal did not look away from the screen, but she did raise an eyebrow. "And how did you do that?"

"I activated the extra security measures." She said lightly as she waved her hand back over the panel and brought up the photo of the platinum blonde girl Flash had caught trying to break into the CCPD building. "And I hacked your security system and activated extra measures. And as far as I can tell, he won't be able to escape a… three foot wide steel door and electric floors…"

"This one… is _shameful_." Eternal's voice was unusually loud for the situation, but the lowered as she spoke. The Justice League members at the other end of the table all shot her a confused, or almost accusing look as she stood, placed her hands on the table, and leaned forwards.

"The first thing I learned was combat training. I was force fed tactics from heroes like," She motioned towards Batman and Black Canary "Martial arts experts like Batman and Black Canary. And even villains such as Catwoman, Riddler, Sportsmaster, you name them, I know how they operate. But this girl-" She pointed at the angry girl on the screen, and narrowed her eyes at her as if she were disgusted. "She _obviously _was not trained sufficiently. You _cannot _depend solely on stealth when going against a speedster."

"So are you saying," Wonder Woman began. "That these are _not…copies _of you?"

The rest of the League turned to look back at Eternal, and waited as she carefully contemplated her answer.

"No." She finally answered as she removed her hand from her chin, and set her hand down next to the holographic panel. The League members became confused again- except for Batman.

"She's right." Batman groveled. All eyes turned towards him, except for Eternal's. "Mercy was selected for her genetic background, or what was stated on her file, her '_superior genetics_ give her the higher potential for absorbing the information force fed to her'." He announced as Eternal nodded, confirming that his statement was correct.

"It was confirmed that I _'absorbed'_ all of the information I was force fed and more as I've grown over the past three and a half years." Eternal spoke with a preoccupied expression as everyone turned to look at her. Flash raised a finger, and began to speak.

"So how much information is that… exactly?" Flash asked as eyes turned to him, and then back at Eternal, who had reached back towards the holographic panel, and then glanced up at Flash.

"I absorbed 100% of the information taught to me. And then when I was allowed to run free for a while, I returned for a 'check up', and it was confirmed that I had absorbed 200% more information and tactics over a span of six months." She paused as she continued to type notes on the files of the captured copies of Eternal. "But that was when I was engaged in combat on a daily basis. I haven't been 'updated' or checked on my development for nearly a year." She grumbled. The room was silent as Eternal typed her notes, and she glanced up momentarily to look over the group of costumed heroes mulling over her words.

"Have you identified any of these kids?" She asked no one in particular. It took a moment, but Black Canary broke out of her thoughts first, and looked up at Eternal from the files she was swiping through on the panel in front of her.

"Four. The others won't even eat. We've had to force feed them and then put them on watch by a member of the League for the rest of the day afterwards." She sighed. Black Canary brought the pictures of the four duplicates that had been identified, and Eternal quickly looked up at them to memorize their faces.

"Theodore Crass, a runaway from Gotham." The black boy with the bleach blonde hair. "Cassandra Franklin. Missing daughter of Senator Cane Franklin, but she claims to have no memory of her family." The girl with brown hair and piercing blue eyes who followed Wonder Woman. "Jayce Carry declared dead by his parents two years after his disappearance." The boy with the light skin and military style haircut. Eternal could see why he had been selected- military background, strong build. He obviously had not lived up to expectations.

The photo of the girl with the purple, blue, and green hair appeared, her face still smeared with a bit of dirt and a few cuts and bruises.

"And she is Mia Byrne." Canary's tone had suddenly turned dark, and Eternal glanced at her. "It took quite a bit of effort to get anything out of her." Eternal closed her eyes, and sighed quietly as the rest of the League members began to debate with each other.

_This can't be happening. _She thought to herself. _Not an army, Lex. Anything but an army. _

Eternal rubbed her eyes with her hands, and sighed again as she fell deeper into thought. _Why didn't I see this coming? Why didn't I stop this before?_

_Well, dear, you can't stop everything, now can you?_ A voice chimed in her head. Her eyes popped open behind her hands, but she kept her frame calm and cool as it had been. Her blue eyes narrowed at the table, and she suppressed a quiet growl.

_Dubbilex. _Eternal replied to the voice in her head. _Long time no talk, my dear teacher. I heard Lex promoted you. That true? _ She slyly questioned as she felt Dubbilex's presence throw up a few guards against Martian Manhunter's telepathy. Eternal did not protest, or try to stop him because she wanted the conversation to be kept between herself and Dubbilex.

_I see you haven't changed. _Dubbilex retorted. Although most believed Dubbilex to be quite rigid with others, he had delved deeper into Mercy's mind than anyone else, and knew exactly now to communicate with her. Eternal scowled behind her hands, and then sat straight up, carefully disguising her discomfort.

_Funny. Lex said the same thing. _Eternal snarled. _I know you've been listening for a while. And I figured you were the one keeping tabs on me. So spill, Dubbilex. What is Lex planning?_

_Something extreme. I don't even know the details of it, Mercy. But you're assumptions are close. _He hinted as Eternal pretended to be listening closely to the heated debate between Black Canary and Wonder Woman. Canary slammed her fist on the table and Wonder Woman stood. Eternal just leaned back and placed her feet on the table.

_Am I? So something along the lines of say… and army? _She asked as she raised an eyebrow at the scene. Canary was standing now. Dubbilex made a small sound in her head, and then another sound that Eternal was not sure what it could mean.

_Give me something, Dubbilex. You can't just show up in my thoughts in and not give me anything to go on. _She practically snarled at him as she narrowed her eyes at the scene in front of her. She could hear the League members snarling at each other, but she wasn't paying nearly enough attention to their words to know what they were yelling about.

Dubbilex paused for a while, and Eternal took the time to analyze the shouting match. Wonder Woman believed the children involved was being kidnapped from their homes, Black Canary believed they were runaways, and the Flash had meekly added that they may have volunteered. All of them could have been right.

_They're all right, Mercy. These children are a mixture of kidnappings, runaways, and volunteers approached by Luthor himself. He's been trying to find another genetic miracle by picking them at random. _Dubbilex stated with a grim tone to his voice. Eternal's expression grew stern, and then looked down at the panel and the faces of the failed attempts. _Some of them were believed to be successes, some of them we knew would fail. But I do not know what Luthor's ultimate plan is, Mercy. My part in his plan is only to raise his copies of you. _

And at that, she felt Dubbilex's presence leave her mind, and the walls he had placed in her consciousness fell.

"I think you're all right." Eternal finally spoke. It was as if she had screamed the words at the enraged members of the League, because they all became quiet, and turned their gaze towards her. It took a moment for Eternal to gather her thoughts together, and the League members stood in collective silence as they waited for her to continue.

Eternal looked up at them, and interlaced her fingers, then placed them underneath her chin.

"Runaways, Kidnapped, willing, or unwilling. I think the that whatever the plan is, and whoever is planning this, really _has _no plan. He's going on chance, hoping at least _one _of these kids will be his crown jewel, the answer to all of his problems." Eternal stated with a grim tone as she motioned towards the photos. The League Members were still silent, but now their minds were spinning with thoughts.

Superman was the first to speak.

"And who exactly is this _he _you speak of?" He asked. All eyes turned to him, and then towards Eternal, who almost lazily looked up towards him. Eternal almost smirked at the irony.

"You and I have a common foe, Boy Scout." She purred, causing Superman to widen his eyes, and pull his head back slightly in shock. She could feel the rest of the League members- minus those closest to her- react as well, and the smirk she had been suppressing appeared- but quietly, and shortly.

"Luthor." Eternal finally stated frankly. Superman's expression quickly became stern, and eyebrows rose on a few faces.

Eternal stood, and made a show of it by sighing loudly as she did.

"The man practically raised me, but he never thought to mention that he had altered my memories after I 'moved out'." She drawled as she rose up her fingers to imitate quotation marks.

Wonder Woman spoke first.

"So _do you believe _that he is attempting to create an army of duplicates?" She questioned, her posture still defensive. Eternal quickly shook her head in response.

"No, absolutely not." Eternal answered as she looked up at them, and then motioned to herself. "If Luthor is searching for another 'genetic miracle', then he wouldn't need an _army_ of them because I was already designed to be the _very best_ one man army." The looks she received were no surprise. The Flash raised his eyebrows as if he were shocked by her bold statement, and the Green Lantern wearing the mask crossed his arms, raised his eyebrows, and sat back in his seat. Others simply raised their eyebrows or narrowed their eyes.

"It sounds… _pompous…_ but it is true." Green Arrow spoke as he raised an eyebrow comically and shrugged his shoulders as multiple pairs of eyes turned towards him.

After a few moments of silence, eyes began to turn back towards Eternal, who was staring down at a panel in front of her.

"So all Luthor needs is another kid with the perfect genetic structure on his side and…" Black Canary's unfinished statement was left hanging in the air as the members of the League watched Eternal, and became heavy on everyone's conscious.

Eternal didn't look up at them, because she knew they were all listening.

"The Justice League is in for a fight for their lives."

-0-

**You guys. **

**I suck. **

**Not my writing skills. **

**But my ABILITY TO UPDATE IN A TIMELY MATTER DOES NEED SOME WORK. **


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Mercy?" A hand waved in front of the blank gray eyes that were focused on a distant cloud in the sky that seemed to be following the car as they rode along the highway. The body connected to the gray eyes jumped in surprise, and turned to face the hand to its beholder.

Roy's blue eyes were filled with a mixture of humor and concern that made Mercy smile and allow a soft laugh to slip through.

"You okay?" Roy asked, his voice vibrant with the sound of bliss. Mercy laughed, and nodded at Roy.

"I'm fine, Roy. You worry too much." She giggled as she placed her hand on top of Roy's, and then intertwined her fingers with his. "I was just off in space, that's all." Roy smirked, and then leaned forwards to peck his girlfriend on the lips, which she eagerly returned. Before Roy could completely pull away, Mercy stole another quick kiss from him, which caused him to laugh.

"You've been 'off in space' a lot lately. You sure you're alright?" Roy asked as he squeezed her hand with his. She gave a soft smile again, thought about all of the things going on with the League at the moment, and then pushed it aside. Tonight was her night with Roy, his Guardian, and his guardian's girlfriend, and she was going to enjoy it.

"I'm sure." She answered as she smiled at him again. "Just lots to do at work. And I can't remember if I turned off my oven or not." Roy laughed at her sarcasm, and glanced out the window. He practically jumped in excitement, and squeezed Mercy's hand again.

"We're here! I can't believe I haven't introduced you to my Guardian yet. I bet he'll love you." Roy smiled as he looked down at Mercy, who was slumping in a very unladylike fashion in order to make herself comfortable in the town car. Mercy glanced up at them, and then turned back to the chipped fingernail polish on her right hand, and began to pick at it.

"I certainly hope so." She sighed as she flicked a small piece of burgundy nail polish across the car as they entered the gates of Queen Manor. Gravel popped quietly beneath the tires of the car as it mulled its way up the long driveway towards the entrance of the enormous house. Roy was gazing out the window, watching the scenery as they drove up, and he lightly scoffed at her comment.

"He will. And so will his girlfriend." Roy replied with the charm in his voice that always made Mercy smile or smirk back at him, which she did right away, and squeezed his arm with a hug. Roy smiled, and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

The aging driver glanced in the rearview mirror and gave a knowing grin before stopping the car in front of the grand doors of Queen Manor. Mercy suddenly sat up, and before the driver could even reach to open his door, she was out of the car, and walking towards the doors of the mansion. Roy stumbled out of the car after her, and jogged to catch up with her just as the driver came around the car and realized that both of his passengers were gone, smirked at the two young lovers, and closed the car door before walking back around the car, and getting back into the driver's seat.

"Wow, this place is amazing." Mercy gaped, wondering how Luthor could have stood the bland brown brick of his manor while Oliver Queen's looked like a castle out of a fairy tale. It practically gleamed.

Roy gave her a playful nudge, and Mercy quickly turned to look at him, nudged him back with her elbow, and then darted up the steps leading up to the entrance to the mansion. Roy laughed loudly, and a face peeked out from one of the windows of the mansion.

Oliver Queen ducked behind the window as both Mercy and Roy's turned towards it at once, and pressed himself against the wall, hoping that Mercy hadn't seen his green uniform.

"They're here, Dinah! I thought they were supposed to be here at eight!" He whispered just loud enough for Dinah to hear as she walked out of the bathroom, putting on her sliver stud earrings as she walked towards him.

Oliver furrowed his eyebrows at her, and then frowned like a child, and crossed his arms.

"You knew and you didn't wake me up?" Oliver grumbled as the doorman opened the door, and greeted the giddy Mercy and smiling Roy. Mercy carefully contained her excitement as she quickly, but politely made her way inside, and Roy greeted the doorman with a nod and an exchange of "how are you's" and "it's been a while's".

"I thought you would wake yourself up." Dinah shrugged as she reached for her Black Canary uniform that had been neatly folded on the bed, and moved to place it in the walk in closet across the room. "You are a grown man after all." Dinah teased.

Oliver began to remove his Green Arrow uniform, and smirked at Dinah before mimicking her- sound effects included. Dinah just sent him a playful glare and then tossed him a set of clothes she had pulled out of the closet. The dress shirt she had picked out for him ended up clasped in his hand, while the pants and boxers landed over his head.

"Shower and get dressed quickly. Your son and the girl he's been fawning over for the past three and a half months are here because you invited them."

Oliver sighed, and muttered something about how he thought that it had been planned for later in the week, and tossed his uniform over to Dinah as he wrapped a towel around his midsection and walked towards the bathroom.

"Tell them I'll be down soon?" He said as he leaned towards her, and placed a quick peck on her cheek. Dinah smiled, and nodded as she placed Oliver's Green Arrow uniform in the closet, and then shut it. It closed with a quiet click, signaling both of the heroes that both of their uniforms would be safe from unwanted eyes.

"I will," Dinah said as she moved to leave the room, and Oliver began to close the door to the bathroom. "But that doesn't mean you should take your time!" She shouted, causing Oliver to laugh as the doors began to close.

"Why of course it does!" Oliver shouted back as the shower started and the bathroom door closed. Dinah smirked as the two lovers downstairs began to make themselves comfortable on the couches in the living room that no one ever really sat in, but remained spotless at all times.

"How can you live with so much extra space?" Mercy asked as she gazed around the room from her spot on the couch next to Roy, who was smirking at his girlfriend as he contemplated on asking her to turn herself upright from her upside down position, or to just let her enjoy herself. He settled on the latter, and shrugged.

"I don't know, Merc." He replied as Dinah silently made her way down the stairs. She stopped at the bottom to listen for a moment to the two lovebirds who had settled on the couch. "I guess I just got used to it after a while."

"I always lived in small places." Mercy said as her gray eyes slowly turned towards the direction Dinah was standing, fully aware that the woman was standing just around the corner from them, just out of sight. "My Mom and I made it work I guess." She shrugged as she pretended to clumsily flip herself over so that she was sitting upright, and nearly pegged Roy in the face with her foot, which he expertly caught, and helped her turn herself over.

Dinah decided that it was finally time that she make her presence know, and purposefully entered the room loudly, her shoes clacking against the marble foyer as she walked towards the living area, causing the two lovers to turn in their seats, and gaze at her.

Mercy quickly stood, her face carefully disguised with glee as she made her way around the couch, and smoothed out her white blouse before holding her hand out towards Dinah, who eagerly accepted it, and smiled warmly at Mercy from behind her unneeded glasses.

"It's so nice to finally meet you! I'm Mercy, Mercy Mendelssohn-Nacht." Mercy said eagerly as her brain went into overdrive at the recognition of Black Canary. Dinah smiled, and realized that Mercy was a magnificent actor, and shook her hand in return.

"I'm Dinah." She spoke as she held Mercy's hand in both of hers. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Mercy. I've heard a lot about you from Roy." Dinah's eyes avert to Roy, who is smiling at Mercy as he walks around the couch, and Mercy looks back towards Roy. Mercy was giving him a mischievous look that he smirks at in return.

"Oh really?" She asked as she released Dinah's hand and smirked at Roy, who exchanged a look with her as he walked by to hug Dinah. "What kind of things?" Mercy asks as Roy ends the hug with Dinah, and moves to take Mercy's hand. Mercy playfully nudges him with her elbow before accepting his hand, and Dinah smiles at the two.

"Good things, Mercy." Dinah laughs as Roy playfully nudges Mercy back, and Mercy giggles. Dinah turns her head slightly to look towards Roy, and shoots him a mock glare.

"Ollie was running a little late getting home from work, so he'll be down in a little while, but he never said anything about us starting without him." Dinah winked, causing Mercy and Roy to chuckle, and the three walked into the grand dining room where the table was set for four with ornate plates that Mercy had only remember seeing something anything remotely similar to them while she had lived with Luthor, and a long mahogany table that seemed slightly unnecessary, but all the same, it was stunning.

"We'll be having quail tonight, if that's alright with you." Dinah mentioned as she led them to their seats at the end of the table, and motioned for them to sit. Mercy waved her hand at Dinah, and gave a small laugh as she sat down.

"I've never had quail before. So I can't say if I mind or not, to tell the truth." She laughed as she eyed the plate in front of her and the glimmering silverware. They appeared to be _real _silver. Nothing like the cheap kind she used to buy whenever her mother managed to chuck them out of the window.

"It's pretty good." Roy said from his seat next to Mercy as he shrugged. His eyes were moving around the dining room that he had come to know over the years he had lived there. "You'll like it." He finished as he looked towards Mercy, and sent her a somewhat discreet wink. Mercy smirked, and then looked towards Dinah, who was watching the two with a sly grin.

When Dinah realized that Mercy was now looking towards her, and she automatically sent her a smile. But something in the gray eyes that were boring into her like a drill told her something that she was hoping to avoid.

"So what do you do for a living, Mercy?" Dinah asked, feeling the words slip out of her mouth before she could catch them. Mercy smiled, but the look in her eyes remained. It was as if they knew something.

"I'm a consultant at a Museum in the Historic District." She answered with perfection. Dinah knew that Mercy would already have every question Dinah could possibly think of already, and each one would have the perfect answer. "I make sure that all the jewels that are brought into the museum are real and cared for properly."

"And she only works one day a week." Roy chirped as he began to twirl a fork in between his fingers. Mercy watched as his fingers expertly twirled the fork just as she had seen him twirl an arrow in boredom as Red Arrow. She smirked at the thought.

Dinah raised her eyebrows at this, and made a small sound of surprise while Mercy shrugged.

"Well Roy works so much that I might as well be working all week long." Mercy chuckled as she snatched the fork from Roy and began to twirl it between her own fingers. Roy was surprised by the theft, but he only prodded Mercy in the side underneath the table, and smiled at her.

"I'm sure if you asked nicely, Roy, Oliver would give you a few days off." Dinah stated as a man carrying a silver platter, followed by a small woman wearing a black dress and a white apron carrying another silver platter entered the room from a door behind Dinah, and began to serve them their dinner. "You two could probably even take the boat out for a while if you wanted. Maybe go to Gotham for the day and shop or visit Bruce." She finished as her plate of quail was placed in front of her on top of the other ornate plate, steaming hot and delectable.

Mercy could only raise an eyebrow at the strange dish before picking up her fork, and prodding the quail.

"You mean Bruce Wayne?" Mercy asked as she picked up a slice of the quail and then placed it in her mouth. After a few chews, she deducted that it tasted fine, and continued to eat along with Dinah and Roy.

"Yeah, he's a friend of Oliver's." Roy answered between bites. Dinah raised her fork as if to get Mercy and Roy's attention before stabbing a slice of quail.

"And he's invited Oliver to a charity gala next weekend. You two are invited if you want to go." Dinah then pointed towards Roy with her speared slice of quail. "And Oliver has already given you the day off, so you have no excuse." Roy rolled his eyes as Mercy giggled.

Roy turned to look at Mercy, who was happily enjoying her quail, and at the feeling of eyes on her, she turned her head to look at him as well, which caused him to smile.

"Would you want to go to a Gala in Gotham?" He asked. "You'd have to dress up and stuff." He winked at her, and she shot him a playful look.

"Well I would love to go to a Gala in Gotham, but I'm pretty sure that I have to work that day." In other words, the Team was being assigned to protect a VIP from the people who had been running around acting as if they were Eternal for the past few weeks. Roy frowned, but Dinah continued to chew on her food, fully aware that Mercy wouldn't be able to go.

"You can't ask for the day off?" Roy pondered, hoping that he wouldn't be alone at a boring charity gala. Mercy looked at him as if he was crazy, and placed her fork back on the plate.

"Roy, I only work one day a week. Asking for the day off is like slapping them across the face like a spoiled child." Mercy retorted.

Roy pondered on this for a moment, and then silently agreed.

"And doesn't he have one of those charities Gala's like every weekend?" Mercy asked, thinking about all of the articles that had been written on each and every one of them. And there was a _lot._

Dinah gave a short laugh along with Roy, and took a quick sip of her champagne as Roy quickly swallowed his bite of food.

"Yeah, he does. Trust me, me and his son Dick always hung out together because they're so _boring." _Roy quipped as he threw his hands in the air. "To tell the truth I never thought I would be excited to hang out with someone five years younger than me."

Mercy laughed slightly, and rolled her eyes at Roy as the doors to the dining room began to open. Even though her eyes were trained on Roy, her ears were trained on the door.

"Well, started without me?" Mercy's gray eyes moved to the door at the sound of the voice, and pasted on a smile.

_Well aren't you a familiar face, Oliver? _She thought as she watched the blonde man move around the table towards his seat that happened to be next to her.

Dinah smiled, and as Oliver walked by, he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, to which she happily accepted with a smile.

"Well you just took too long, Ollie." Dinah chirped as Oliver squeezed her shoulder, and then looked up at Mercy, who pasted her smile back on. Oliver wasn't as good at containing his surprise as Dinah was, and his eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of Mercy.

Mercy's smile widened to accommodate the sudden attention.

"Hello, Mr. Queen." Mercy cooed politely as she stood from her chair, and held out her hand to shake his. Oliver quickly smiled, and moved around the table to accept her handshake.

"Nice to finally meet you Mercy. Roy talks about you like a giddy school girl." Oliver whispered the last part, but it was still loud enough for Roy to hear as Mercy giggled.

"So I've heard." Mercy laughed. _I'm guessing he tells you these things when you're on patrol together, huh?_

Once Oliver finally sat down, told a few jokes, and ate his dinner, the four began to talk about subjects other than galas and Mercy's life or Roy's constant chatter of Mercy, and moved on to other subjects- such as Roy as a young boy or Oliver's slip up at an important meeting.

But the entire time the four spoke to each other Mercy was internally berating Black Canary and Green Arrow for thinking that she was dumb enough to not realize who they where, or if they just didn't care. But the entire night, Mercy kept on her carefully constructed mask, and continued to smile and laugh when she was necessary, frown when needed, and even deliver a sarcastic remark to give a laugh every now and then. To them, Mercy was normal. Average, even.

Even the two heroes aware of Mercy's true self felt themselves falling for her façade.

After a few hours of simply talking over dinner, dessert, and even a glass of champagne for Dinah and Oliver and water for Roy and Mercy- who secretly craved a drink after acting so much that night.

"Well, it's getting late." Roy yawned as he stretched his arms. His movement caused Mercy to turn to him, and even crack a genuine smile at him as he winked at her, and then stood from his seat, causing Dinah and Oliver to follow.

Roy politely pulled Mercy's seat out for her, and then took her hand with a smile, and the four continued to make small talk as they walked out the dining room, and back towards the living area.

"You really have to run out on us so fast, Roy?" Oliver teased as he elbowed his adopted son, and managed to work a smirk out of him as he continued to mess with him. Roy released Mercy's hand, and began to mock-fight with Oliver.

"Come on, old man, you can do better than that!" Roy shouted as he threw a few gentle punches towards his guardian, and then ran-making it appear as if the two still got along like they used to when Roy was much younger, and not so temperamental.

When the two men ran around the corner and out of ear shot from Dinah and Mercy, Dinah finally gave a small laugh. Mercy, on the other hand, dropped her façade like a brick attached to a dead man in the river.

Her smile fell off her face as one grew on Dinah's and her eyes went from bright to stony in less than a second flat.

"You've really brought out the old Roy, Mercy." Dinah said, unaware of Mercy's sudden change. "I'd like to thank you for that." Dinah finally looked at Mercy, but from the profile view that she had of the raven haired girl, she couldn't really tell that she wasn't the same Mercy that she had just had dinner with.

Mercy just gave a lazy shrug, just as she would have if she were speaking to Canary as Eternal, and Dinah finally realized who she was really talking to.

"I really can't take any credit for that, _Canary._" Mercy practically yawned as she clasped her hands behind her back, and continued to walk even after Dinah paused to glare at Mercy's back. "He sort of… blossomed… on his own." Mercy finished as she continued to walk away.

After a moment, Dinah huffed, and finally caught up to Mercy, who had stopped to observe a painting on the wall that had been placed next to a window. Mercy recalled something her mother had said while they had lived at Luthor Manor about keeping paintings away from sunlight, or else it would ruin them.

She could already tell that the part of the painting closest to the window was fading.

"So you knew the whole time?" Dinah asked, not really needing an answer to know. If she had said it now than it meant that she had just been waiting patiently for a chance to say something. And apparently, that time was now.

"Absolutely." Mercy shrugged as she reached forward with her right hand, and swiped a layer of dust of off the ridge of the frame around the painting. Oliver's maids must not be so through with their cleaning. "And 'Ollie' made it pretty obvious." She continued. Dinah narrowed her eyes at this fact. "He's not very good at hiding things."

Dinah shot a look at Mercy, and then turned her back to the painting she was looking at. Dinah began to lecture Mercy about not being so fraudulent or something along those lines while Mercy continued to gaze at the painting.

It was an old portrait of Oliver, obviously from before he became Green Arrow, and maybe even before he even became a CEO because he was fairly young, free of his goatee, and his arms were a bit lanky, but still slightly defined from underneath the sweater he was wearing.

Mercy wondered if that time of his life were easier than the one he lead now.

Suddenly, a shadow darted past the window in the corner of her eye, and her head turned quickly, the words that Dinah were speaking silenced, and the two gazed at the window for only a moment long enough for Mercy to speak.

"Well, Dinah. It looks like you've got an extra guest." Mercy said quickly before turning back towards the dining room-the direction the shadow was running towards, and began to run. Dinah was just about to follow when Mercy turned back towards her, and practically barked at the woman who was considered her superior.

"Keep Ollie and Roy busy!" Mercy then turned around, and sprinted around the corner. "I can take care of this."

Dinah growled, and was about to follow Mercy when Roy and Ollie came skidding back around the corner, panting and laughing at the same time with signs of grass and dirt stains on their clothes. The Black Canary was left to with a downsized version of crowd control while her supposed 'sidekick' took care of an intruder in her own home.

While Dinah covered for Mercy, Mercy had already made her way out onto the grounds through an exit in the kitchen, and was silently running after the shadow, which was now making its way around the house towards he back, occasionally stepping on twigs or rustling branches- while Mercy's feet didn't even make a sound against the grass.

When the two shadows in the dark began to make their way into the garden's, Mercy gave a soft whistle to catch the shadow's attention, and then leapt onto the ivy fencing hanging over the garden as the shadow turned around.

The shadow became uneasy at the sight of nothing behind them, and slowly, but carefully ventured forwards to investigate as Mercy silently adjusted her position to make it easier for her to drop on top of the unsuspecting shadow.

When the shadow was right underneath her, Mercy hung on to the strongest vines she could reach, relaxed her legs slightly so that she could curl herself into a ball above the shadow, whilst holding herself up with just her fingers wrapped around vines.

When Mercy felt that she had made the shadow squirm long enough-a grand total of ten seconds- she decided to act.

"_Psst._"

When the shadow's eyes darted up to look towards the sound, it was already too late- because Mercy's feet were swinging down directly towards their face.

When they made impact, the sound of a nose breaking was obvious, and the sound of a body landing on soft dirt followed. And then, a groan of displeasure from the shadow as Mercy leapt on top of it, and pointed her trusty push knife directly at the shadow's throat, and then ripped the mask off of the shadow's face.

Mercy smirked at the sight of the girl with the green, purple, and blue hair. But then frowned when she realized that she was supposed to be in League Custody.

"Mia Byrne." Mercy spoke, carefully drawing out her first name as she pushed the knife against the girl's neck just enough to get her to squirm.

Mia just glared at the sight of Mercy.

"Mercy." Mia answered with a stern tone. She was calm despite the fact that her nose was bleeding like a faucet.

Mercy raised an eyebrow at the response, but she wasn't surprised that she knew her name.

"So, tell me Mia," Mercy pressed the push knife against Mia's skin, and Mia attempted to push her head back further against the dirt on the ground to avoid it. "How did you escape League Custody?" Mercy seemed utterly comfortable, while Mia just seemed irritated.

"It's _League Custody." _Mia rolled her eyes as if Mercy had made a sad joke. Mercy raised her eyebrows, and then narrowed her eyes and furrowed them slightly. Mia noticed, and looked directly at Mercy with her blue eyes. "I got myself some Chinese take out the other night if that tells you anything."

Mercy's expression didn't change. Mia sighed when she realized she wouldn't be able to skirt around Mercy.

"I came the closest to being Luthor's best new _you._" Mia admitted. Mercy showed small signs of interest, but when they began to change back to boredom, Mia continued. "Apparently, that wasn't good enough- and now that I've seen you in action a few times, I can see that I'm nowhere near your level. And I'm not afraid to admit that." Mia shrugged underneath Mercy, and in response Mercy twisted the push knife against Mia's throat, causing her to hiss as it finally broke a bit of skin.

"You've seen me in action?" Mercy asked. Her voice was cold. Mia didn't nod, seeing that now she had too injuries she wouldn't be able to explain when she returned to her cell.

"I've been sneaking into the surveillance area of the Hall of Justice to watch your training videos. I was hoping I could pick some stuff up by just watching." Mia answered, her voice a little more strained this time.

Mercy's eyes were still cold as she debated on how and when the girl was escaping. And why had Luthor let her go if she was the closest he had gotten to duplicate his perfect one man army?

"I highly doubt that." Mercy retorted as she kept the push knife steady against the girl's neck. Mia's lips formed into a line in offense. "But if you were the closest thing to me that Luthor could get, they why would he just let you go?" She finished.

Mia rolled her eyes again at that.

"I'm not like the other attempts at duplicating you. I lied about being a metahuman." Mia answered almost nonchalantly. Mercy suddenly felt a pressure in her mind, and glared hard at Mia, and pushed her knife a little harder.

Mia hissed in pain, and then retracted her mental attack.

"And now I see why you're the best of the best…" Mia grimaced. Mercy shot Mia a sour smile, nodded her head curtly, and twisted the knife a little for good measure.

"Why would Luthor not want you if you came with other abilities?" Mercy asked, her voice even darker due to Mia's attempt at a mental attack. Mia sighed slightly, but then hissed when the push knife prodded her at the movement.

"He wanted to keep me- but then there was something about Dubbilex saying that my _abilities _prevented my mind from accepting any kind of programming. Before I could find out anymore, Luthor had Dubbilex put me out and then dump me in Gotham where he found me." Mia paused, and then continued at the sight of Mercy's enraged eyes. "I saw that hero Eternal take down that one guy on the roof. He needed more training- but his anger would always get the best of him, and Luthor grew impatient and kicked him out. After that, I decided I would rather help the good guys- and you, rather than be another one of Luthor's rejects."

Mercy had heard every word- but she was still caught up on one word.

_Programming. What programming?_

"Well that's kind of you." Mercy almost spat. She didn't obviously struggle to keep her tone in check- but internally, she wanted to just scream. Mia didn't notice, and continued to watch Mercy carefully. "But why should I trust you?"

Mia smirked at this.

"Luthor can't keep tabs on me like he can keep tabs on _you._" Mia answered with a smirk on her face that Mercy desperately wanted to slap off.

Mercy watched the girl for a few moments, and then at the sound of voices- Roy's and Oliver's- she looked up, and then back down at Mia, who also had her eyes turned towards the direction of their voices.

Mercy pulled her push knife away from Mia's throat, wiped it on her pants, and then quickly slashed her hand before pocketing the weapon. She had to have some explanation for being gone so long. She quickly climbed off of Mia, pulled her up by the collar of her outfit, and then shoved her mask into her hands.

Just as Mia was about to sprint away, Mercy snatched her wrist and held it there with an iron grip. Mia looked obviously surprised at her strength.

"Wayne Towers, Monday night. Don't bring friends." Mercy snapped as she held the girl's wrist. Mia nodded. "Head back to the Hall. Someone will be looking for you by now." Mercy finally released Mia, and without another word, the girl with the multi-colored hair that was now fading plenty- sprinted away into the woods nearby, and disappeared into the dark as Mercy began to scream as if she had just been attacked, and ran towards Roy and Oliver's voices while clutching her hand in false pain.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"I don't know, Etty." The Boy donned in the Green hoodie spoke as they sparred in the Cave. The rest of the team had yet to arrive because the rest of the team didn't rise as early as the two of them. He was about to speak again when he carefully ducked to avoid the end of Eternal's staff, which was live, and cackling with electricity as it whistled over his head. Robin did a few back hand springs to give himself some space, but Eternal quickly caught up to him by using the staff to leap into the air, and land behind him. "It doesn't sound like such a good idea to me. You could compromise your identity."

Eternal made a small sound to acknowledge Robin's opinion, and then swung about to tag Robin with the end of the staff- which was only charged enough to give the boy a small jolt rather than a full blown shock.

The staff came in contact with Robin's side, and the boy gave a small yelp as the staff shocked him, while Eternal smirked, and then laughed.

"Looks like I win…" Eternal sighed mockingly as she pulled her staff away from Robin, and then leaned on it as she pretended to inspect her fingernails. Robin shot her a look of disapproval, and then in one fluid motion, kicked the staff out from under her- expecting her to topple.

Eternal just swung the staff back at Robin- who received yet _another _shock.

"Look, before we start this whole thing over again-"Robin spoke as he held the spot that had just been shocked. Eternal paused; her staff still extended towards Robin, but her expression now more one of childish interest rather than her warrior-like glare. Her bottom lip was even sticking out slightly.

"Did you hear a word I said?" Robin asked his tone a bit like a parent's. Eternal gave a small laugh and a smirk, and shrugged. Robin narrowed his eyes at her from behind his sunglasses, and frowned.

"Maybe." Eternal chirped. Robin huffed- and then in a blur of black and sky blue- the color of Eternal's shirt and pants for the day- Robin was forced to block a kick to his head, and then was suddenly staring at the ceiling.

"Remember, grasshopper- just because my _foot _is flying towards your face doesn't mean I can't swing my staff at your ankles." Etty spoke wisely as she offered a hand out to Robin, and retracted her staff so that it was now about six inches long and easily tucked into her utility belt. Robin grumbled quietly about something along the lines of '_yeah, yeah, Batman.",_ and then looked up to speak at Eternal- who quickly cut him off by raising her hand. "And yes- _I heard _every word you said." Robin raised an eyebrow and Eternal rolled her eyes and tapped the side of her head.

"Eidetic memory, remember?" She said just before motioning towards the empty room around them. "I can remember every step you took just now."

Robin rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, and then shot Eternal a playful look.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But what do think?" Robin asked as he shrugged at Eternal. She was looking at him as if they were talking about normal teenager stuff- when really the fate of the Justice League could be at stake.

And therefore- the world.

"I'm sticking with my original plan." She said as she looked at him as if he had just suggested they go steal the Batmobile. Which very possible for the two- it just wasn't a good idea in the long run.

"Didn't you say she's been watching training tapes of you?" Robin pondered. "Wouldn't that mean she already knows that you're the _hero_ Eternal?"

Eternal shook her head.

"No. Bats gathered video of me fighting various opponents, and before he recruited me- he was going to show them to _you_ in order to give you an upper hand. But he never got that chance."

Eternal turned to walk towards her room where she was planning on leaving her utility belt, and Robin followed.

"I'm going to meet her at Wayne Towers on Monday. Just like I said." Eternal spoke as the door to her room slid open, reveal her spick and span room to the boy wonder behind her. He waited at the door politely until Eternal waved him in, and he eyed the array of weapons lying on Eternal's desk waiting to be sharpened or repaired.

"But I can't meet her as Eternal. She's smart. She'll know that Mercy is Eternal in a moment's notice if the thief you've known as Night doesn't show up donned in her old costume." She spoke as she reached into her closet, and placed her utility belt back over her uniform.

Robin was tapping his chin in thought as he eyed the target on the wall that didn't seem to have any other marks in it other than the hole right on top of the bulls eye.

"I get that. But I'm not sure if Batman would be all too excited to give you your old costume back, Etty. He keeps it under lock and key- and I'm not even sure where it is." Robin said. Eternal quickly turned around, and Robin spotted her in the mirror. "But I know he didn't get rid of it!" He said quickly to keep her calm. "That's not like him."

Eternal narrowed her eyes slightly, and then motioned for Robin to follow her, which he did without complaint as they exited her room, and headed for the Kitchen. M'gann and Conner were still sleeping, which left her plenty of time to make herself and Robin some breakfast.

"_Right,_" Eternal spoke with a slight edge. Robin huffed quietly, and Eternal smirked, and then laid a 'gentle' punch on his arm. "So Bird Boy, you think you could pull some strings for me?" She asked as Robin rubbed the spot Eternal had punched.

Robin thought carefully before he spoke as they walked into the kitchen, and he took a seat on one of the stools before he finally answered.

"Yeah. I think so. But I can't make any guarantees, Etty." Robin answered. Eternal shrugged, and then moved to begin making a batch of fresh waffles.

"Yeah, yeah, Bats is stubborn." She stated as she began to mix the ingredients for the waffle batter. Robin nodded his head in agreement at this. "Now, Robin. I have another very important question to ask you. I believe the fate of the world depends on your answer."

Robin looked up quickly, his expression confused as he watched Eternal mix the waffle batter, and then slowly turn around with a stony expression.

"Uh…" Robin started as Eternal continued to mix the batter, and stare at Robin. "Ask away?" His tone told the world that he was more than a little confused.

Eternal gave a dramatic sigh, and then paused her mixing.

"Robin…" She said quietly. Robin leaned in closer to hear her, and she looked up at him. "Should…" She paused, and Robin rose an eyebrow at her.

"Should I make… _chocolate chip_ or _blueberry_ waffles?"

-0-

A while after Robin and Eternal enjoyed their chocolate chip waffles, the rest of the team began to trickle in from their homes, and gathered in the Cave, ready to begin training- and a chance to take a few punches at Eternal.

Right now, Eternal and Robin were joking about, throwing playful jabs at each other and executing less tactical, but more enjoyable acrobatics as the rest of the team watched on with distaste while whispering to each other as if they were planning something sinister. Black Canary was running a bit late- but that shouldn't have stopped them from beginning their training on their own- even though it did for most of them.

"_Authorizing, Black Canary A-1-3. Authorizing, Red Arrow, B-0-6." _All eyes turned to the Zeta tubes, and just as expected, Black Canary came strolling out of the tube with Red Arrow trailing right behind her in his full costume.

Black Canary glanced around the room at the young heroes with a stern look on her face, which slowly turned into a deep frown as her eyes landed on the five who were standing on the other side of the room with their hands in their pockets.

Just as Canary was about to open her mouth to lecture the five who were mulling about, Eternal's blue eyes glanced at the now relaxed Robin- who was vulnerable to attack.

Just as the first inkling of a word began to trickle out of Black Canary's lips, Eternal darted forwards, and jabbed Robin in the ribs, causing him to yelp loudly in surprise, and swing his arm around in an attempt to hit Eternal, who quickly blocked him, and delivered another four quick jabs to select pressure points- which then caused Robin to stiffen.

"I-I can't… m-move." Robin groaned as he began to fall backwards. Eternal quickly caught the boy by the collar of his shirt, and held him up with one hand as she smirked at him, the rest of the team glared, and Canary and Red Arrow watched on with slightly surprised expressions.

"_I told you so." _Eternal sang as she skillfully, and gently prodded the pressure points again, and then released Robin- who quickly caught himself, but stumbled slightly. Eternal gave a triumphant '_hmph'_ as Robin mumbled something under his breath, and brushed some imaginary dirt off of her shoulder.

Canary raised an eyebrow at the two, and then gave a quiet huff.

"Well, if you two are finished, it's time for training to start." Canary stated as Eternal sent her a mock salute, and walked over to where herself and the team would spar.

Canary took a few steps forwards towards the Team, while Red Arrow hung back, choosing to observe from afar.

"I'll be pairing you all up today- powers and weapons allowed. And since there is an uneven amount of members on this team, Red Arrow has volunteered to stand in." She motioned towards him, and he nodded politely. Eternal sent him a mock bow that caused Robin to snort quietly. "

Canary ignored the two, and continued.

"First up, Robin and Kid Flash." Canary announced as the holographic training floor came to life, and the two young boys stepped forwards, and Eternal stepped off of the floor.

The Team, Black Canary, Red Arrow, and Eternal gathered around the training floor, careful to keep their distance from the fight in case something- or someone came towards them. Canary stood between Eternal and the rest of the team, while Red Arrow stood directly next to Eternal.

Canary stepped forward to begin the match, and Eternal leaned over slightly towards Red Arrow, who glanced towards her at the movement.

"I give it twelve seconds." She whispered as Canary started the match, and Kid Flash disappeared in a blur of yellow. The team had been asked to practice in full uniform today- but Eternal was still the only one in her black skinny jeans and sky blue shirt, but with her utility belt thrown around her waist. She went so far as to even keep her hair down.

Red Arrow didn't answer Eternal, but silently disagreed with her as he turned to look back towards the match- and within six seconds after the six seconds he had spent observing Eternal- Robin came out the victor, while Kid Flash laid on the floor, groaning like he had just been hit by a freight train.

"Very good, Robin. Great job at using his speed against him." Canary complemented as the two boys left the ring, Robin practically strutting while Wally rubbed his head and grumbled.

"Superboy, Aqualad, you're next." Canary announced.

The match between the two boys lasted much longer than the one between Robin and Wally- but even as they watched, Eternal yet again called the exact time that the sparring match would end- and even went so far as to declare Aqualad the victor- but quietly mentioned that his last shot had been sheer luck, which just before Red Arrow could defend his friend- Canary backed her up by telling Aqualad that he would need to practice more with Superboy because something like that wouldn't happen every time he went up against Superboy.

"Artemis and Eternal." Canary announced as she reset the training floor, and then stepped back to allow the girls to enter the floor.

Eternal threw her hair over her shoulder, and gave an almost bored sounding- but quiet sigh. But then, cracked her knuckles, and moved to enter the training floor just after Artemis, who already had an arrow notched back, and aimed at Eternal's feet.

Red Arrow watched with narrow eyes as Eternal smirked, and then reached back to pull out her silver kukris, and then even went so far as to toss one in the air and catch it repeatedly as she waited for Canary to start the match.

"She always does that." Kid Flash grumbled quietly from next to Red Arrow, who glanced at him as he spoke. "She's so freaking smug." He snarled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Red Arrow shrugged, and then looked back at the two girls, who were still waiting on Canary's call.

"She might be." Red Arrow spoke quietly back. Kid didn't look at him, but he was listening. "But that just means that he knows exactly what she's capable of."

"Begin Match." Canary announced.

Artemis released a flurry of arrows at Eternal, who had already caught her kukri in the palm of her hand, and was now twirling them about so quickly to deflect the arrows that they began to blur.

Artemis backed up as Eternal advanced, releasing arrows one after another to try and defend herself, and Eternal continued to deflect them almost as if she wasn't even trying.

"Aw, come on Arty, I know you can do better than that!" Eternal shouted as she spun around, and sliced an arrow in half.

Red Arrow's eyes widened in recognition at the movement.

Artemis grunted, and shot off a trick arrow at Eternal- that opened up into a net- which Eternal caught in her hand with grace, and threw it towards the left wall without a second thought. And with every movement- she did with a smirk on her face.

Artemis growled, and released another triple of arrows, and then sprinted towards Eternal full speed, hoping to catch her off guard.

But- just as predicted, Eternal was ready, and quickly disarmed Artemis by basically swatting her bow out of her hand, sweeping her legs out from underneath her, and then placing a foot on her chest and pointing a kukri at her throat.

Artemis struggled against Eternal's foot- but by that point there was no reason to, because the holographic training floor had already declared Artemis's defeat. Eternal just smirked, and raised her foot off of Artemis's chest, and then pulled away her weapon, allowing the archer to stand.

"Maybe next time, Artemis." Eternal said as she smirked at the girl, and sheathed her weapons. Artemis just grunted in frustration, and made her way back to the others.

Just as Canary began to call out another pair of names to begin another sparring match, her communicator began to go off, and she quickly walked away to answer it, the doors to the common area shutting behind her.

As soon as Black Canary had her back turned, Red Arrow practically charged towards Eternal- whose eyes quickly diverted towards him, and her muscles tensed. She sensed danger.

Red forcefully placed a hand on her shoulder, and pushed her away from the team, causing them to watch on with a mixture of concern and confusion. But before Red could push her very far, Eternal swatted his hand off of her, and sent him a look of pure venom, and placed a hand close to a dagger on her belt.

"Excuse-" Eternal growled, but was cut off by a shout from Robin and Red's own louder growl.

"Where did you learn that?" He snarled. Eternal narrowed her eyes, and quickly snarled back.

"Learn _what?"_ She snapped, leaning towards Red Arrow as she did.

"You cut her arrow, and you caught her net- _talk!"_ Red Arrow shouted. Spit flew out of his mouth in his anger, and landed on Eternal's face, causing her to close her eyes, and slowly reach up, and wipe it off with a disgusted expression.

"Anyone with half the experience I have could do that, _asshole._ Now just tell me what you're getting at, or move _back _before I _make you."_ Eternal spat as she pulled out her dagger, and prodded Red in the chest with the hilt. Red looked down at the dagger with narrowed eyes, and Robin quickly stepped forwards.

Red tried to swat the dagger away, but Eternal quickly moved it from his reach, and then placed it back at his chest.

"Try it again." She hissed. Red Arrow only glared as Robin stepped between them, slowly took the dagger from Eternal's hand, and pushed the two away from each other.

"Look, Red, whatever you're getting at, you shouldn't be getting at _here _and the way you are." Robin said calmly, but sternly to Red, who huffed like a bull, and continued to glare at Eternal, who had taken a step back from Robin's outstretched hand, and crossed her arms in resentment.

"And Etty, there's no need to provoke the angry. Or _threaten_ the angry." Robin reasoned as Eternal watched him from the corner of her eyes, and then looked at Red, who was still glaring at her with his narrowed eyes.

"I don't trust you." Red spat, causing Robin to give him a gentle push further away from Eternal.

"I don't remember ever _needing_ your trust." Eternal replied smoothly before holding her hand out to Robin, and waiting patiently for him to place the dagger in her hand. Robin hesitantly placed it in her hand, and she placed it back in her belt as she turned her back to Robin, Red Arrow, and the Team, and headed towards her room to gather some things she would need for the night.

"See you guys later." She grumbled as she lazily waved over her shoulder. "Try not to miss me too much…" She muttered.

As soon as the doors slid shut behind Eternal, Robin put his hand down, and sighed quietly, but just loud enough for the team to hear, and then turned to face them.

"You guys know that what you're doing is taking a toll on her, right?" He said with a tone to his voice that dripped with concern for his friend.

Kid instantly shot a look at Robin, and huffed loudly.

"Well excuse us if she _lied _to us. I mean, that's not even her real face!" Kid shouted as he threw his hands in the air. Red Arrow spun around, his white eye slits wider than ever.

"What?" He asked as Robin slapped his forehead behind him, and then dragged his hands down his face in frustration.

"That bird ring she wears," Kid continued to yell. "When she takes it off, she changes! She's a totally different person and she didn't bother to tell us!"

"Well, Kid, when you think about it, I'm a totally different person under this mask- and I haven't told _any _of you." Robin shouted before Kid or Red could speak. He then pointed at Miss Martian.

"That's not Megan's real face, we all know what she looks like underneath, but we don't force her to be the person she's not willing to show just because we want to." Robin continued as he moved forwards. M'gann turned her face away, and took a step away from the Team.

"Red, even _you _hide your face! None of us have asked you to take off your mask and show us who you really are underneath it! So why ask the same of Etty if she's not ready to reveal herself to all of you when you can't even give her the trust she deserves?" Robin finished as he looked around at his teammates with a mixture of disappointment, and desperation. "She's saved all of our lives over and over again and you all repay her with suspicion and distance."

Robin rounded on Wally, who was already ashamed, and pointed directly at him.

"You remember what she did for you! She proved she'd be willing to give her life for us!"

The Team seemed to grow uneasy at this notion, and all of them averted their eyes- even Kid, whose raised hand lowered slowly lowered in realization of how wrong he had been.

But Red Arrow wasn't about to quit.

"What did she look like?!" He shouted, causing nearly everyone to jump, seeing that they had been in thought.

Red was answered with silence and wary glances.

He raised his hands up slightly, and then let them drop.

"So you're not going to help me now." He scoffed before turning around to glare at Robin, who glared right back. "Thanks a lot _Robin." _He spat. Robin narrowed his eyes, and only sent him a curt nod before Red spun around with a huff, and stormed towards the Zeta tubes.

"Well, when you all realize your mistake, feel free to give me a call- but for now, good luck with your newest _mole._" He spat just before he disappeared in a flash of light, and was gone.

Robin sighed, and then turned to face the Team, who all still appeared to be slightly uneasy after the scene that had unfolded before them.

The doors that Eternal had stormed through only minutes ago slid open again- and Eternal came storming out with a backpack slung over her shoulders, and a look on her face that made the team, and even Robin- think twice about approaching her.

But Kid Mouth decided to speak, and zipped forwards to put himself within arms reach of Eternal.

"Where're you going?" He asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

The tone of Wally's voice caused Eternal to shoot him a suspicious look, and stop momentarily to gaze at him, before walking once more.

"Why do you care?" She spat before reaching towards the panel to type in her designation, and stepped forwards into the Zeta tube.

Wally frowned, and muttered something about how he thought they were friends, and zipped off once more to disappear into the kitchen.

"Rob, meet me in Crime Ally." Eternal shouted just as the Zeta tube began to brighten, and her form began to dissipate.

Before Robin could answer, she was gone.

-0-

Wally stared at the television silently, but without actually processing what he was watching as his hand robotically placed another chip in his mouth, and he began to chew, but without really tasting his food.

Mentally, he was counting the times Eternal had saved his life in the past four months she had been a member of the Team.

The first time had been when he had become pinned by one of Poison Ivy's vines, and just when Ivy was about to deliver the finishing blow- Eternal had swooped in, and sliced the vines off of him, allowing him to bolt as soon as he was free- because he didn't think twice about how Eternal would come out of the fight.

She came out with bruises from being thrown around by Ivy- but she would have come out without them with Wally's help.

The second time was when Wally had accidently run himself off of a cliff- and Eternal ran after him with not a moment's hesitation, quickly caught up to the flailing Wally, and plunged a knife into the wall of the cliff- successfully dislocating her shoulder and destroying a brand new knife. The two hung onto the side of the cliff with Wally hanging onto Eternal's waist, not uttering a single word to her while she endured her excruciating pain in silence. Miss Martian flew down to retrieve Wally, and Superboy retrieved Eternal.

He remembered that one the most because he had witness Eternal shove her own shoulder back into place.

The third time, it was during the failsafe exercise- Eternal had truly died to save him.

It was right before the Team had been ambushed while incorporating the alien weaponry onto Miss Martian's ship. Eternal had been the first to spot the alien ships coming towards them, the first to begin fighting back with explosive throwing knives and defending the ship along with Artemis.

Artemis had gone first- and then entire team had frozen in their place, unable to move from the shock- and the same alien ship that had just taken Artemis aimed for the screaming Wally.

Eternal had cried out to him, telling him to move, but he hadn't moved fast enough for once, and Eternal dove in front of him just in time.

Just in time for Wally to watch her disintegrate less than a foot away from him. He saw her face mask burn away, her eyes turn black and her skin burn away, and finally- her bones disappear into thin air forever. Eternal had died to protect her Team.

She had proven her worth. And what she was worth was not enough to them.

-0-

"Why does it always seem to rain in Gotham?" Mercy muttered to herself as she made her way towards Crime Ally with a hood pulled over her head, carefully casting a shadow over her features, and keeping her face dry.

Robin was supposed to meet her in Crime Ally in less than ten minutes, and so far, that plan was still meant to happen.

"Hey lady!" But if the thugs she was walking towards continued to think that interrupting her plans would be a good idea- Mercy would probably be a little late. "What's a pretty thing like yourself doing out so late?" The thug purred as the cigarette in his mouth bobbed up and down.

By what she could hear and see, there were three, but in Gotham, you never knew exactly how many where waiting in the shadows.

Mercy continued to walk forwards, but swiftly pulled her mask out of her pocket, and carefully placed it over her eyes as she approached them.

If she needed to fight, there was no need for them to see her face.

As she grew closer, they became irritated at her lack of response.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" The same thug shouted as Mercy continued forwards. Just as she was about to pass by them, the thug who had been yelling at her grabbed her shoulder roughly, and pulled her back towards him.

He pulled Mercy close, wrapping his arm around her neck and bringing her ear close to his mouth to speak to her.

"I'll show you what happens when you little ladies ignore _me._" He hissed in her ear. Mercy just stood still, with an almost bored expression on her face that was still concealed by shadows.

Before the thug and his friends could move another muscle, Mercy whipped out two long daggers out of the sleeves of her jacket, spun the knives around in her fingers, and plunged the daggers in the thug's arm, causing him to scream in a mixture of pain and surprise, and loosen his grip around Mercy's neck.

Mercy slipped out from behind his arm, turned to face the thug- while twisting the daggers in his arm, causing him to scream louder as her right leg swung around to hit another thug right in the face, causing him to fall to the side, and roll a few feet as he moaned in pain; Mercy had successfully dislocated his jaw.

Mercy ripped the daggers out of the thug's arm, and spun around to face the third thug, who had drawn a gun from his coat, and had it aimed at Mercy.

Just before he could pull the trigger, Mercy threw her dagger, and it hit the man directly in the center of his chest, successfully distracting him with the pain long enough for Mercy to close the space between them, and force the gun out of them man's hand by striking key pressure points, causing his fingers to fly open, and drop the gun on the sidewalk, which Mercy quickly kicked away.

Mercy pulled the knife out of the man's chest, and then brought her leg straight up, violently pegging the man's lower jaw, and sending him flying back.

The first thug that had attacked Mercy began to kneel behind her, and Mercy slowly turned around to face him.

"W-who are you?" He uttered as he clutched his arm. Mercy only stared at him, her daggers dripping as the rain washed off the blood they had previously been coated in. The two weapons were now gleaming in the moonlight.

Mercy leaned forwards, and placed a shining dagger against the man's cheek. She didn't say a word, but only dragged her dagger across his cheek, leaving a large cut that would more than likely scar. A constant reminder.

"I'm no one you need to know about." She spoke softly as she nonchalantly wiped her weapon against the man's jacket, and then placed both daggers back into their hiding places. "Just someone you should _fear_."

Without another word, Mercy turned her back to the trio of groaning men to wither in the rain, and continued to venture further into Crime Ally.

-0-

Red Arrow scoured the city for the Batman, hoping to find him before the night was out- and that the rain would let up soon- because he was beginning to feel like a drowning rat.

Even though Red was the one looking for the Bat, he had a feeling that Batman would find him first- since, Gotham was his city after all, The Dark Knight's playground.

As far as he believed, he was closing in on Crime Ally, where most of the city's scum lingered and even… _blossomed_.

He looked down from his perch from the rooftops, and spotted a trio of thugs mulling about on the sidewalk underneath a dilapidated awning made out of cheap metal that had rusted over years ago. It wasn't much of a cover from the rain to say the least.

Just as Red was about to look down to his bow and make sure his string was still useable (rain is hell on strings), one of the thugs called out loud enough for Red to hear over the torrents of rain.

"_Hey lady_!" He shouted as Red moved closer to the edge of the roof, and placed a foot on the edge as his eyes landed on the woman the man was shouting at. "_What's a pretty thing like you doing out so late_?" She didn't seem fazed by the man shouting at her, and continued walking forwards.

"Confident aren't you?" Roy murmured to himself as he pulled out an arrow, and notched it back just in case he needed to jump in and help. He watched as the woman reached up to her face, and adjusted something, maybe a pair of glasses or scratching an itch.

His eyes averted back to the men as the one with the cigarette in his mouth shouted again.

"_Hey! I'm talking to you!"_ The man shouted as the woman walked so close that she was within arm's reach of the man. And just as Red suspected the man would do, he reached out, and roughly grabbed the woman, and wrapped his arm around her neck, then whispered something in her ear.

Red took aim at the man's shoulder, but _just _as he was about to release the arrow, the woman whipped a pair of knives out of her sleeves, and attacked the man who was holding her. He screamed, and the woman expertly maneuvered her way out of the man's arms, and kicked another man as she twisted the knives in the other one's arm.

"Well… I guess you've got good reason to be." Red murmured as he lowered his bow, but kept the arrow drawn, just in case she went too far.

He watched as the woman took down all three men with just one or two strikes to each, and then approach the one who had initially attacked her, and place the tip of her knife on his cheek- and left her mark.

He couldn't hear the exchange between the two afterwards, but could only see that the woman was calm as she wiped off her knife on the man's jacket, and then turn her back to him, and walk away as if nothing had happened.

After watching for a moment to make sure that the men wouldn't follow her- which he doubted they would- he began to follow the woman, keeping a safe distance, and sticking to the shadows.

As far as he could tell, she wasn't aware that she was being followed as she ventured towards Crime Ally.

"Now where are you going?" Red spoke to himself quietly as he leapt across the rooftops to follow the woman.

-0-

**So, I finally updated, and this chapter is long AS FUCK, so you guys should definitely leave me a review. :D **

**I'd really appreciate it. **


	18. Chapter 18

**I know I suck. No need to tell me. BUT THE HIATUS DID NOT HELP MY WRITING BLOCK ANY AND OMG ITS BACK NOW AND I'M BETTER LETS DO THIS. **

Chapter Eighteen

_So you think I didn't see you, Red? _

Mercy's shoes tapped against the side walk as she pretended to reach up and scratch her ear, when she really tapped her communicator.

_I saw you before those thugs even started talking. _She thought to herself as Robin's voice came through the comm. Link.

"_Yeah, I see him too." _Robin answered before Mercy said a word. "_Stop where you are, you're just a few feet from the rendezvous point anyway. He'll stop with you, I'll distract him, and you can make your move."_ Robin finished.

Mercy glanced as she stopped up just in time to spot Robin's cape disappear over the edge of a rooftop. Red probably hadn't spotted him yet.

"And my uniform?" She asked quietly, keeping her lip movement to a minimum. Robin's voice came back to life over the comm.

"_Safely tucked in a black trash bag behind that dumpster you're standing next to." _He answered before his comm. "_Whatcha lookin' at Red?" _

That was her queue.

She quickly snatched the black trash back from behind the dumpster, and quickly, but silently, sprinted away to find her way back to the Zeta tubes, and run to Star City.

-0-

"What are you stopping for?" Red asked himself as he peered over the edge of the rooftop he was on top of. The woman in the black jacket had stopped next to a dumpster, and was now scratching her ear and leaning on one foot, then another, as if she had somewhere important to be.

He watched for a few moments, longer, and noticed her head turn upwards slightly towards the rooftop across the ally, and then look back down. When Red looked towards the rooftop he thought she looked at, he saw nothing.

When he looked back at the girl, she had his back turned to him, her face now turned towards the ally ahead of her.

"Whatcha lookin' at Red?"

Red Arrow jumped so high that he knocked over the small, yet poorly stacked pile of bricks he had been crouched next to, and the white eye slits of his mask stretched so wide that he the bottom of his mask pulled up slightly.

Robin was kneeling next to where Red had previously been crouching with a smirk on his face that told Red that he knew exactly what he was up to.

When Red glanced into the ally to see if the woman was still there, all he saw was a puddle- and a rat scuttling away from a cat.

He sighed.

"Nothing. _Nothing_ at all." He grumbled as he reached up to straighten out his mask, and then glared at Robin. "Can I help you?" He snarled. He was still slightly angry at the boy for turning on him earlier, and causing him to lose the woman he had been tailing for the past twenty minutes.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Robin quipped in return. Robin seemed completely relaxed even though Red Arrow seemed a bit… frazzled. "Since you are in Gotham. Would you like me to show you around?" Robin offered as he held out a hand to Gotham's gritty skyline. You could hear a few sirens going off in the distance, and distant shouting every now and then.

Red narrowed his eyes at Robin, who simply shrugged his shoulders, and stood by executing a gracefully roll backwards, then pointed at Red.

"Bat wants you to know that if you want to talk to him, you should contact him instead of coming to Gotham. You know how he is about '_his turf'_." Robin spoke as he rose up his hands and made quotation marks with his fingers. Red just grunted in response.

"I'll let you get that. I'll see you around Red." Robin said kindly before running off, and disappearing after leaping off of the edge of the building, leaving Red alone in the rain.

The older hero turned around with a grumble, and began to ready his bow to grapple back to the nearest Zeta tube as he continued to take a long swim in his thoughts, not even bothering to come up for a breath of air to check his surroundings.

_Click_.

-0-

"Why hello there, Handsome." Mercy chirped in her perky 'normal Mercy' voice as she walked down Main Street in Star City, just a block away from the Zeta tube she had arrived from.

"_What's up?" _Red asked as he made his way back to the Zeta tube that would take him home with shaking hands. If he wasn't welcome in Gotham unannounced then he wouldn't overstay his welcome. Not to mention what he had just learned.

Mercy walked across the street with the rest of the night's late night party-goers, and continued towards Roy's apartment complex.

"Well, I know this is kind of short notice, but do you think I could stay over for the night… or three?" She asked, her voice sweet. Roy gave a quiet chuckle on the other end of the phone, and smiled at Mercy's voice.

"_Of course. You know where the key is. But I'm not home right now, and I probably won't be for about half an hour."_ Roy spoke as he held the phone between his ear and his shoulder, and pulled back the string to his bow to shoot at a wall just above entrance to the ally the Zeta tube was located in. His damned hands were still shaking. He couldn't decide if it was from anger- or fear.

"Alright. Have you had dinner?" Mercy asked as she jogged across another cross street. She was getting close to Roy's apartment now. She grabbed her hood just before it slipped too far back on her head, and pulled it back down. No need to attract media attention. It was already weird enough that she was sopping wet and there was not a cloud in the sky in Star City tonight. "I can pick up something on the way, or make something- if you've gone grocery shopping in the past few _weeks_." She teased as she turned her face away from a popular hangout for paparazzo. The place had giant windows and enough cheap coffee to keep them running for days. She could even see a few photographers mingling at one of the tables inside.

"_Heh." _Roy answered as he landed in the ally, and walked towards the Zeta tube- a rickety old telephone booth that looked as though it would collapse any second. "_No, I haven't yet." _

Mercy laughed quietly, and turned to look to see what options she had for dinner.

"How do greasy burgers sound?" She asked as her eyes landed on a burger joint that Roy had mentioned he liked a few days ago.

"_As long as they're from King's." _Roy retorted as he put in his designation, and then muted the phone to that Mercy wouldn't hear. When he arrived in Star City's Zeta tube, he turned the mute off. "_I've got to get back to work, I'll see you when I get home, okay?" _

Mercy knew he had just arrived in Star City. She wasn't stupid. She could tell when he turned the phone on mute because the rain that had been in the back ground when completely silent, and his breathing was suddenly cut off.

"Alright. Love you." Mercy spoke as she walked inside of King's and took her place in line.

Red smiled at the words. No matter what, Mercy could always make him smile with those words.

"_Love you too. See you at home." _

-0-

Mercy quietly munched on her hamburger, fries, and shake quietly in comforts of Roy's large apartment; she was seated on his plush leather couch with a large comforter she had found in his closet, now dressed in her pajamas with her sopping wet clothes in the dryer and the water droplets she had left behind all cleaned up. She had even had the time to take a shower since Roy still had to make his rounds in Star City.

She had finally finished off her burger when the news came on, and a news reel interrupted the show about the African plains, causing her eyes to narrow at the television, and a soft growl to come out from between her lips as she began to reach for the remote- until she heard a familiar name.

"_Lex Luthor has confirmed that after months of remaining off the radar he will be attending Bruce Wayne's charity event this coming weekend to support the Local Education Programs in Metropolis, Gotham, and Star City-" _She changed the channel quickly.

"I don't want to hear about _Luthor _right now." She murmured to herself as she found a different show to watch- despite the gears that had naturally begun to turn in her head. "…don't want to hear about it." She grumbled again as she brought her shake up to her lips and took a long draw from it.

"I'm just going to enjoy my shake… and _not_ think." She murmured again as she glanced up at the television. Some fashion show where people were sewing like maniacs was on.

One of the contestants was as bald as Lex Luthor himself. Mercy groaned, and switched the channel again to a science channel.

She sat there for a moment and watched as he continued to sip on her shake, and watched the show about wormholes and supernovas.

But her brain kept turning the wheels with ideas and plans, how she could easily confront Luthor, get him to talk about his plans. What was he up to anyway? What was he playing at this time?

_No, Mercy. Wait to speak to Mia. She knows more than you do- and maybe she can tell you more about your programming. Unfamiliar weaknesses could be the end of you. _

Mercy sighed, placed her shake on the coffee table in front of her, and then reached up to rub her eyes before snatching the remote, and turning off the television, leaving her in darkness- minus the dim lamp across the large room.

"Just… _stop_ thinking Mercy. Stop it." She whispered to herself as she nestled herself further underneath the comforter until only her eyes were visible. The silence she was now consumed in was comforting- and Lex Luthor free. Within moments, she could feel her eyes growing heavy, and her body becoming relaxed as sleep became more and more tempting.

And then a window opened in the other room. To anyone else's untrained ears, it would've just been neighbors walking around with heavy feet, or the building settling. But to Mercy, it meant it was time to feign sleep, because Roy was home.

She listened closely as she turned on her side as if the noise had disturbed her, and faced the door to the room the window had been opened in.

She could see his shadow from the sliver that was left between her eyelids, a man with a quiver on his back, a bow distinctly sticking up from inside of it. That was definitely Roy. And based on the quiet and occasional patter of water hitting the floor, the rain and Gotham had soaked him pretty badly too.

His face peeked around the edge of the door, and Mercy could see a blurry outline of him as she pretended to bury herself deeper in the comforter.

He gave a quiet chuckle, and then disappeared behind the door again to remove the rest of his costume.

_Finally you're home. Maybe you can help me keep my mind off of…things._ Mercy thought as she listened to Roy move around in the next room.

First the Quiver, then the bow, then the mask, shoes, shirt and pants, and then last but not least- the mask. He always has a another pair of clothes hidden away in that room of his, because he walks out looking like he could have just come home from work- or he just rolled out of bed.

Mercy guess that Roy assumed that she wouldn't notice that he hadn't come through the front door, and quietly made his way over to her as she continued to feign sleep.

But just before he reached the couch, he paused, as if he was watching something with interest, and gave a quiet groan as the sound of skin rubbing against five o'clock shadow cut through the silence in the apartment.

Roy couldn't believe his luck. She was still there. Still breathing. Just slumbering away on his couch without a care in the world with his favorite comforter and a shake in front of her on the coffee table. Her hair was a halo of messy raven waves about her head that stood out starkly on the white leather, and her skin seemed to glow in his eyes. He was relieved. She was okay.

For now.

He moved towards her again, and finally, kneeled before her as she slept. He rose up a hand to touch her, but just before it came in contact with her skin- he paused, taking a moment to savor the warmth that emanated from her.

_She's okay, Roy. She's okay. She's safe. _

For _now_.

He put his hand on her forehead. She stirred slightly.

"Mercy?" Roy whispered as he smoothed the hair on Mercy's head away from her face, and smiled as Mercy opened one eye as if he had just waked her from a deep slumber. "Hey sweetheart." He smiled as he leaned forward, and kissed her forehead.

"Hey." Mercy spoke with a raspy, weary voice as she smiled at him, and stretched. Her muscles were truly achy with tired. "Your dinner is in the microwave."

Roy smiled, and continued to stroke Mercy's hair, causing Mercy to smile.

"You alright Roy?" She asked as she smiled at him, and reached out from underneath the blanket to rub her eye. He just nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Where did you say my dinner was?" He asked. Mercy pointed at the kitchen, but she knew that Roy was dodging the question.

"Microwave." She answered before leaning forwards, and pecking Roy's cheek. "I'm going to go to bed. I'm exhausted." Mercy spoke as she sat up, wrapped the comforter around herself, and then moved to stand.

But before she could stand, Roy caught her lips in his, and gently pushed her back onto the couch so that he was leaning over her, and she was still sitting, with the comforter still wrapped around her.

The kiss was so… passionate. As if Roy was afraid that she was leaving and never going to come back.

Mercy suddenly pulled away, and held Roy back by his chin when he tried to catch her lips again.

"_Roy,_" She scolded as she sent him a knowing look. He frowned deeply. "What's _wrong_?"

Roy stared at her for a moment, and then gave a quiet sigh, and then groaned.

"I… I got a letter today." He spoke as he sat on the floor in front of Mercy with his arms resting on her legs. He spoke with his eyes to the floor as Mercy placed her hands on his arms, and gave him a reassuring squeeze. She could tell he was lying because he was looking to the left as he stared at the floor.

But at least he was telling a half truth.

"It said that if I showed up at the… Gala… on Saturday…" He left the sentence hanging. Mercy urged him on by squeezing his arm, but she could really tell that he was trying to think of the best way to lie without it actually sounding like a lie. He'd hesitated when mentioning the Gala. Mercy decided to finish for him.

"Someone threatened your life?" She asked. Roy's head snapped up too look at her, his eyes expressing surprise, and then, worry.

He shook his head slowly, and stuttered. It was as if he was so terrified that he couldn't speak.

"Someone… threatened _my _life?" She asked, feigning being shocked. This was no surprise to her. Multiple threats on her life had been presented to her since she was five years old. This one was no different.

Roy slowly nodded, and gazed up at Mercy with a worried look in his eyes. But when he discovered that Mercy didn't really look _that _concerned, he looked taken aback.

"Mercy? Are _you _okay?" He asked his tone slightly incredulous. Mercy looked up at him, and looked surprised.

"Yeah." Mercy replied. Her voice was strong, and it stunned Roy, whose eyebrows actually flew upwards on his forehead. "I'm scared, Roy." Her tone didn't convince him. "But I'm not going to show it." She smiled at him, and he slowly nodded at her.

"So… you're okay… but you're not okay?" He asked, his voice rising slightly at the end of his question.

Mercy nodded, and placed a hand on his cheek.

"Roy, I'm stronger than I look." She chuckled. _Much stronger._

_I know you are, Mercy. _He thought to himself as he watched her gray eyes bore into his with a sparkle that he'd hope he'd see for the rest of his days.

Roy just smiled, and watched as Mercy began to desperately try to repress a yawn, which ended up with her making a face that would have made him laugh hysterically if he hadn't just told her someone was threatening her life.

"I'm going to bed, Roy." She yawned as she leaned forwards, and placed a kiss on his forehead. Roy smiled at her kiss, and stood to move out of her way.

"Goodnight, Merc." Roy answered as he leaned forwards, and kissed the top of Mercy's head. She smiled at him, and then walked into the bedroom and shut the door, leaving Roy alone in the living room.

All he could do was stare at the door, and worry.

His mind wandered back to the black-clad figure on the roof with the guns. Two pistols with silencers pointed directly at his forehead. He hadn't even heard her approach him as he made his way home, but all night he had felt eyes on him, and when he turned around too look for those eyes- he was met by the barrels of two guns.

Her voice had been smooth, poised, and even slightly untailored as she had spoken to him from underneath her mask. It was more like a helmet of sorts, similar to the one Night wore- but Night has never used guns before. It's just not in her nature.

"_I know that you and a certain little girl are acquainted, Harper."_ She began, causing Roy's blood to run cold as he gazed down the barrels of the guns. "_She's wanted. Not by your police, or your Justice League, but by the ones you happen to be… what was it…_ keeping an eye out for_?_"

Roy had looked over the barrels of the guns, and glared at the masked woman in front of him. She was tall. Much taller than Night. He could remember because Night's head had only come up to just below his shoulder. Her costume looked much more structured, much more protective, and _expensive _than Night's. It looked like something Batman would've had.

"What do you want from me?" Red asked.

"_Nothing." _She had hissed, causing Red to wish he could get his hands around the woman's throat. "_No matter what you do, she's dead. I can promise you that."_

"Then why tell me?!" Roy snarled.

The Woman just chuckled.

"_Just thought you'd like to know."_She had responded with a laugh before throwing down a smoke bomb, and disappearing in the smoke.

Night would have just struck a pressure point that would have disabled Red, and ran. This one seemed to like the theatrics.

But the only thing that mattered was that Mercy was in danger. Mercy needed to be kept safe. No matter the costs.

-0-

It was around three am when Roy finally came to bed, and fell asleep next to Mercy. She had pretended to sleep for nearly forty-five minutes until she began to grow tired of Roy's constant shifting and sighs of discontent, and promptly dug her fingers into his auburn hair and gently pulled at it for ten minutes or so as she spoke to him in sweet nothings under her breath to get him to relax. After fifteen minutes, he finally fell into a deep sleep, but now, Mercy couldn't even keep her eyes closed for more than the time it took her to blink.

-0-

**Who do you guys think it is? **


End file.
